Angel Bastardo and Spencer Miles are in similar situations, but with different requirements for next season

Blue Jays: Angel Bastardo and Spencer Miles are in similar situations, but with different requirements for next season

The Toronto Blue Jays will enter the 2026 season with some roster spots up for grabs. While nothing is finalized, considering there are still a couple of months left in the offseason for the front office to make some moves, the Jays will have two interesting names vying for a spot in the bullpen this time around.

Angel Bastardo and Spencer Miles are heading into the spring looking for big league jobs. Both players were acquired by the Jays via the Rule 5 Draft – Bastardo in 2024, Miles in 2025 – and they will both need to spend time on the big league roster this next campaign if the Jays want to keep them around past next year.

However, while Bastardo and Miles need to stick in the big leagues due to the rules that come with the Rule 5 Draft, both players have different requirements for how long they need to remain on the big league squad.

OFFICIAL: We’ve selected RHP Spencer Miles from the Giants in the MLB phase of the Rule 5 Draft.

Welcome to our #BlueJays family!

Bastardo spent all of last season on the 60-day IL while recovering from Tommy John surgery and didn’t pitch in any affiliated baseball last season. This wasn’t a secret for the Jays brass; they knew that the Venezuelan right-hander would be on the sidelines for the majority, if not all of last season, when they selected him in the draft. But Bastardo does not have the same requirements that typically follow Rule 5 Draft picks.

Because he was selected last winter and missed all of last season due to injury, he needs just 90 active days on the roster; otherwise, he must be offered back to his original team, the Boston Red Sox. Once those 90 days pass, he can be optioned to the minor leagues should the Jays choose.

Miles is in a different boat and is following the normal Rule 5 trajectory. The right-hander must remain on the Blue Jays’ active roster for the entire campaign; otherwise, he must be offered back to the San Francisco Giants.

Despite being in a different situation in comparison, the Jays used this type of mentality with Elvis Luciano in 2019 when the club was rebuilding.

OFFICIAL: We’ve selected RHP Angel Bastardo from the Red Sox in the MLB phase of the Rule 5 Draft.

Welcome to our #BlueJays family!

The 19-year-old spent the entire season on the 2019 active roster, making 25 appearances before landing on the IL with an elbow sprain for a large part of the campaign, outside of five outings in September once he was healthy again. The Blue Jays moved him to the minors after that season, as he met the requirements to remain with the squad, but he never made another big league appearance again, and last pitched overseas. This could be done with Bastardo once he meets that minimum of 90 days; however, Miles is likely in a different boat unless the Jays feel like carrying him along for the full season.

Bastardo last pitched for the Boston Red Sox Double-A affiliate in 2024, where he made 10 starts to the tune of a 5.36 ERA and a 1.324 WHIP across 45 1/3 innings. Miles has made just 10 appearances since being drafted in 2022 due to injury, last pitching in Rookie Ball in 2024. With the Giants’ ACL affiliate, the right-hander posted a 4.91 ERA through five outings (three starts) while striking out ten batters across 7 1/3 innings.

For both pitchers, the Jays see something they like from a stuff+ base with both arms and are giving the pair an equal chance to break the Opening Day roster for next season on a minimal risk situation.

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