Chase Lee Returns as Blue Jays Place Joe Mantiply on 15-Day IL
Chase Lee is back with the Toronto Blue Jays. The club recalled the right-handed reliever from Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday and made him active for tonight after placing Joe Mantiply on the 15-day injured list with left knee inflammation.
Joe Mantiply Hits the 15-Day IL
Mantiply’s move was retroactive to May 18, trimming the Blue Jays’ bullpen options in the middle of a four-game set against the New York Yankees in the Bronx. He last pitched Sunday in Toronto’s 4-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers, when he allowed one hit and one walk in 2/3 of an inning.
His season line before the injury move was strong: a 2.04 earned-run average, a 1.13 WHIP, and 16 strikeouts over 17.2 innings. Toronto was using him as one of John Schneider’s more trusted relief arms before the knee issue sent him to the injured list.
Chase Lee Back in Toronto
Lee has already worked one big league game for Toronto this season. On April 27, he allowed one run over 1.1 innings in a 5-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox, then went back to Triple-A one day later.
That earlier stint created the opening Trey Yesavage filled on the active roster after Lee was optioned, and Tuesday’s move reverses that path. Lee now gets another immediate major league chance while the Blue Jays keep their pitching plan intact for a night in which Dylan Cease was scheduled to start opposite Will Warren.
Blue Jays Keep Rotating Arms
For Toronto, the move is less about a long-term reshuffle than a direct answer to the day’s roster need. Mantiply’s 15-day IL placement removes a left-hander who had been producing well, and Lee’s return gives the bullpen another right-handed option as the series continues in the Bronx.
Lee’s first chance back comes right away. After one run in 1.1 innings earlier this season and a quick return to Buffalo, he gets another turn to hold a major league spot while Toronto manages the workload around Mantiply’s absence.
