Recent Blue Jay DFA’d After 3 Days With New Team

Well, that didn't last long. When the Toronto Blue Jays DFA'd and then traded left-handed reliever Justin Bruihl to the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday, the 28-year-old southpaw figured he had a new lease on life. He never was able to grab a firm hold of a job in the Toronto bullpen.

But his time with the Guardians lasted less than three days, as they've designated him for assignment after bolstering their bullpen by signing Shawn Armstrong.

We have signed RHP Shawn Armstrong to one-year Major League contract with a mutual option for the 2027 season.

In a corresponding move, we have DFA'd LHP Justin Bruihl.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/Hys7IMloXU
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) December 21, 2025

Armstrong was excellent for the Texas Rangers in 2025, having a career year with a 2.31 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and nine saves.

As for Bruihl, he only made it into 15 games for the Blue Jays this past season, and it wasn't pretty. He surrendered 19 hits in 13.2 innings, with a 5.27 ERA. He did strike out an impressive 11.9 batters per nine, but he also walked 4.6 per nine, and had an untenable 1.90 WHIP.

The Jays actually added him as additional lefty in the bullpen for the ALDS against the New York Yankees, but that didn't go so well either. He was rocked for three hits and two runs, including a home run to Cody Bellinger, in one-third of an inning. Needless to say, he wasn't on the Jays roster for the ALCS or World Series.

His time at Buffalo in Triple-A was more productive, as he posted a 3.86 ERA with a 49:16 strikeout to walk ratio.

In 89.2 career innings across five major league seasons, Bruihl carries a 4.72 ERA and 1.37 WHIP.

Bruihl will now look for another opportunity after being DFA'd twice in the last week.