Blue Jays' Brendon Little: Tagged with loss Tuesday
Rotowire
Little (0-1) took the loss and was charged with a blown save Tuesday against the Red Sox, giving up two runs on two hits in an inning of relief. He struck out one.
With Jordan Romano (elbow) and Yimi Garcia (elbow) both sidelined, the Blue Jays' bullpen depth is being tested, and Little flopped in a high-leverage audition Tuesday when he served up a game-winning homer to Tyler O'Neill in the eighth inning. Toronto's struggled to find a reliable left-handed reliever this season -- Tim Mayza has a 6.04 ERA, while Genesis Cabrera has a 4.55 ERA and 1.52 WHIP -- but Little doesn't seem to be the answer. The 27-year-old carries a 6.17 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 10:2 K:BB through 11.2 innings this season with just one hold in 10 appearances.
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Blue Jays' Brendon Little: Called up Saturday
Rotowire
Little was called up from Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Little will return to the majors after being sent down to Buffalo on May 5. With Jordan Romano (elbow) being placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday, Little will get another shot in Toronto's bullpen. The left-hander has appeared in three games with the Blue Jays this season, allowing four runs on five hits and a walk while striking out four batters over 3.1 innings.
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Blue Jays' Brendon Little: Heads back to minors
Rotowire
The Blue Jays optioned Little to Triple-A Buffalo on Sunday.
He'll cede his spot on the 26-man active roster to right-hander Alek Manoah (shoulder), who was activated from the 15-day injured list ahead of his scheduled start Sunday versus the Nationals. After being called up from Triple-A on April 25, Little made three appearances out of the Toronto bullpen, giving up four earned runs over 3.1 innings.
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Blue Jays' Brendon Little: Lands in Toronto
Rotowire
The Blue Jays acquired Little from the Cubs on Monday in exchange for cash considerations and purchased his contract from Triple-A Buffalo, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Little was knocked around in his lone appearance for the Cubs in 2023 and posted a 4.05 ERA and 73:38 K:BB over 73.1 frames at Triple-A Iowa. The 27-year-old left-hander is now on Toronto's 40-man roster.
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Cubs' Brendon Little: Reports back to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Cubs returned Little to Triple-A Iowa on Thursday.
Since Little joined the Cubs as a replacement player Monday when Adrian Sampson was placed on the restricted list, the 26-year-old southpaw won't be exposed to waivers as he comes off the 40-man roster and heads back to Iowa. Little got the chance to make his MLB debut in the Cubs' 5-3 loss to the Blue Jays on Tuesday, when he was charged with a blown save after surrendering three earned runs on two hits and one walk over two-thirds of an inning.
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Cubs' Brendon Little: Called up Monday
Rotowire
Little's contract was selected from Triple-A Iowa on Monday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Little will serve as a replacement player for the Cubs' three-game series in Toronto after Adrian Sampson and Justin Steele were placed on the restricted list. Little has posted a 4.15 ERA and 1.41 WHIP in 39 innings over 29 relief appearances at Iowa this year and should serve as a multi-inning relief option for the Cubs in Toronto. Once the series in Toronto ends, Little will head back to Iowa and will lose his spot on the 40-man roster, though the Cubs won't have to expose him to waivers.
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Cubs' Brendon Little: Moves past elbow injury
Rotowire
Little (elbow) has tossed three scoreless innings across three relief appearances since being reinstated from Triple-A Iowa's 7-day injured list May 5. He's scattered one hit and four walks while striking out one in those outings.
Back in November, Little was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his left elbow, with the injury sidelining him for the first week of the 2022 minor-league season. Now healthy again, Little will look to carve out a high-leverage role in the Iowa bullpen.
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Cubs' Brendon Little: Dealing with stress reaction
Rotowire
Little suffered a stress reaction in his elbow and has been shut down for six weeks, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.
Little split the minor-league season between Double-A and Triple-A in 2021. He pitched exclusively out of the bullpen and posted a 3.24 ERA and 1.39 WHIP across 41.2 innings while striking out 53. That could have put him in consideration for a bullpen role for the Cubs in 2022, though his inability to have a typical offseason could affect his timeline to reach the majors.
