Blue Jays designate Austin Voth for the second time this season, select Hayden Juenger

What happened

The Toronto Blue Jays announced that right-hander Austin Voth has been designated for assignment for the second time this season, with right-hander Hayden Juenger's contract selected from Triple-A to take Voth's place on both the 26-man and 40-man rosters.

The move follows a rough outing for Voth in a bullpen role against the Baltimore Orioles, in which he allowed five runs over 3 1/3 innings in what became a 6-5 Toronto victory. It is the second time this season Voth has been designated after absorbing innings in a bullpen game — the first designation came in early April, following an appearance in which he allowed one run over 2 2/3 innings against the White Sox on April 5, a game Toronto lost 3-0.

Why it matters

The symmetry here is almost too tidy to ignore. Toronto's first DFA of Voth this season led to him electing free agency rather than accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A — only to re-sign with the Blue Jays on a new minor league deal shortly thereafter. Per MLB Trade Rumors, it seems quite possible history will repeat itself: assuming Voth is not claimed off waivers, he could again opt for free agency and potentially re-sign with Toronto, or he could take a more direct path back through the system.

That is the particular rhythm of the minor league deal — a contract that does not place a player on the 40-man roster, often carrying an opt-out mechanism that keeps both sides in a kind of low-stakes negotiation loop. Voth has now completed that loop once already this season, and the conditions that produced the first iteration appear largely intact.

For Juenger, the promotion represents a different kind of moment. His contract being selected from Triple-A means he joins both the 26-man active roster and the 40-man roster simultaneously, which is the standard mechanics of a selection from the upper minors. He steps into a bullpen role that Voth had been occupying, inheriting the innings-eating assignment that comes with being a fresh arm in a Toronto relief corps that has been leaning on depth.

Is Voth done with Toronto?

Not necessarily, per MLB Trade Rumors. The outlet notes that the situation seems quite possible to replay itself — Voth clears waivers, elects free agency, and re-signs on another minor league arrangement. Under general league rules, a player designated for assignment must be traded, released, or placed on waivers within seven days, and outright waivers run 48 hours. If no club claims him, the Blue Jays would have the option to outright him to the minors or release him. Given that Voth chose free agency over an outright assignment the first time around, MLB Trade Rumors flags that outcome as a real possibility again.

The minor league deal that followed the first DFA is the kind of arrangement that tends to get re-signed with minimal fanfare and maximum practicality. It keeps a known quantity in the organization, available for exactly the kind of multi-inning bullpen work Toronto has been asking of him. Whether that arrangement holds a third time is, at this point, genuinely unknown.

Where the club stands

Toronto's record sits at 79-83 (.488), placing them in the AL East, 19 games back in the division. The Blue Jays are eliminated from both the division race and the Wild Card race, with a Wild Card rank of 6 and sitting 5.0 relative to the cut line. They enter the weekend having won their most recent game — the same 6-5 victory over Baltimore in which Voth's outing occurred — giving them a current streak of W1.

A 79-83 record in late May is not where Toronto envisioned spending the spring, and the eliminated-from-both-races designation shifts the calculus on roster decisions like this one. The question becomes less about October positioning and more about organizational evaluation: who can help next year, and who is worth carrying on the 40-man? Juenger's selection answers the second question in his favor, at least for now.

The upcoming schedule does not offer much in the way of a breather. Toronto is set to continue the current series at Baltimore's Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Saturday, May 30, with Trey Yesavage projected to start opposite Brandon Young. The series concludes Sunday, May 31, with Spencer Miles lined up against Kyle Bradish. The club then travels to Atlanta for a Tuesday, June 2 date at Truist Park, where Kevin Gausman is the projected starter against Bryce Elder.

That stretch — finishing a road series against Baltimore, then heading to Atlanta — is the kind of schedule that keeps a bullpen busy regardless of where a team sits in the standings. Juenger arrives into that context immediately.

What we don't know yet

The most consequential open question is what Voth does next. MLB Trade Rumors flags two plausible paths — free agency followed by another re-signing, or a more streamlined return — but neither has been reported as decided, and the waiver process has not yet run its course. Whether any other club places a claim on Voth remains unknown.

On the Juenger side, the announcement confirms the roster move but does not detail what role he will occupy beyond filling Voth's spot. Whether he is being asked to handle similar multi-inning bullpen work, or whether Toronto has a different deployment in mind, has not been reported.

What to watch

The immediate thing to monitor is the waiver wire. Voth has 48 hours of outright waivers once placed, and if he clears without a claim, the Blue Jays will face the same decision they faced in early April — outright him to Triple-A or release him. Given that Voth elected free agency rather than accept the outright the first time, his preference on that question is already on the record.

Juenger's first appearances in a Toronto uniform will also be worth tracking, particularly in how the club uses him across the Baltimore and Atlanta series. A fresh arm joining a team playing out the string still has something to prove to the organization, and the next several days of schedule provide immediate opportunity.

And if Voth does clear waivers, elects free agency, and re-signs on yet another minor league deal — well, at that point the arrangement will have developed a momentum that feels less like a transaction and more like a standing appointment.