Blue Jays place Francis on IL with shoulder injury, DFA Swanson
The Toronto Blue Jays are shaking up their pitching staff.
The club announced Tuesday they placed struggling starting pitching Bowden Francis on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement and designated reliever Erik Swanson for assignment.
Toronto recalled right-hander Paxton Schultz and selected the contract of lefty Justin Bruihl from Triple-A in the corresponding roster shuffle.
Francis doesn't have any structural damage in his shoulder, manager John Schneider said, according to Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith.
The 29-year-old has been one of MLB's least effective pitchers after impressing in the second half of the 2024 season. He owns a 6.05 ERA (69 ERA+) and 1.53 WHIP through 14 starts and completed five innings only once in his last six outings. However, some of that came while he was hurt, as Schneider acknowledged Tuesday that Francis had been battling the shoulder impingement for his last two-to-three starts, per Sportsnet's Arden Zwelling.
Swanson, meanwhile, started the season on the injured list and has struggled mightily since returning to the mound. He's allowed nine earned runs on eight hits in just 5 1/3 innings pitched.
He posted a 5.03 ERA last year in a disappointing follow-up to an excellent 2023 campaign, his first in Toronto after being acquired from the Seattle Mariners in a trade for Teoscar Hernández.
Toronto remains without pitchers Max Scherzer, Yimi García, and Nick Sandlin, all of whom were expected to fill large roles. Scherzer will make another rehab start in Triple-A on Wednesday. He could come off the IL next week, depending on the results of his outing, Nicholson-Smith added.
The Blue Jays' staff entered Tuesday with the fourth-worst ERA (4.22) in the American League.