The Toronto Blue Jays are less than a week away from Opening Day in 2026. The Blue Jays will kick off the season with the first of a three-game series against the Athletics at 7:07 p.m. ET on March 27 at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Toronto is making the final moves to put together the Opening Day 26-man roster and recently made the decision to cut two pitchers on the roster bubble.

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According to a post on “X” from Hazel Mae, right-handed pitcher Lazaro Estrada was optioned to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons and right-handed pitcher Connor Seabold was granted his release and is a free agent.

Both pitchers have brief stints in the major leagues under their belt, which led to speculation either could have made the Opening Day roster on the back end of the bullpen.

Both players have vastly different experiences within the Blue Jays organization.

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Estrada was signed by Toronto as an international free agent out of Cuba on Jan. 4, 2018. He made his major league debut last season.

In two big league outings, Estrada posted an 8.59 ERA and fanned 10 batters in 7.1 innings pitched. He allowed a grand total of seven earned runs on 10 hits (two home runs) across his pair of appearances.

This spring, Estrada has a 4.76 ERA and has fanned four batters in 11.1 innings pitched across six outings (one start).

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Seabold was originally picked in the third round of the 2017 MLB Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. He was signed to a minor league contract by the Blue Jays on Jan. 21 and was assigned to Triple-A.

The 30-year-old righty’s longest stint in the big leagues was in 2023 with the Colorado Rockies. Seabold posted a 7.52 ERA in 27 outings (13 starts).

Last season, across stints with the Tampa Bay Rays and Atlanta Braves, he had a 4.35 ERA and struck out 10 hitters in 10.1 innings pitched across seven outings.

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Seabold has a 6.75 ERA in six Grapefruit League appearances this spring.

Currently, the Blue Jays bullpen on Opening Day is predicted to be comprised of the following hurlers, according to FanGraphs:

Right-hander Angel Bastardo in long relief; left-hander Mason Fluharty, right-hander Tommy Nance, right-hander Braydon Fisher and left-hander Brendon Little all in middle-leverage; right-hander Louis Varland as a setup man; right-hander Tyler Rogers also as a setup arm and right-hander Jeff Hoffman as the team’s closer.

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