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Toronto Blue Jays Trade Journeyman Reliever Brett de Geus to Pittsburgh Pirates

Brett de Geus, who was designated for assignment by the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, is set to compete for a spot in the Pittsburgh Pirates' bullpen in 2025.
Sam Connon|
Sep 27, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Brett de Geus (31) throws a pitch against the Miami Marlins during the seventh inning at Rogers Centre.
Sep 27, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Brett de Geus (31) throws a pitch against the Miami Marlins during the seventh inning at Rogers Centre. | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

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Toronto Blue JaysPittsburgh Pirates

The Toronto Blue Jays have traded right-handed pitcher Brett de Geus to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for cash considerations, the team announced Wednesday afternoon.

Toronto designated de Geus for assignment last Friday, freeing up space on the 40-man roster for All-Star reliever Jeff Hoffman. Five days later, a deal came together and de Geus was able to find a new team without hitting free agency.

The Pirates already added Caleb Ferguson and Peter Strzelecki to their bullpen earlier this winter, making de Geus the latest reliever the club has been willing to take a flier on.

De Geus got his start in the Los Angeles Dodgers' farm system, but he got poached by the Texas Rangers with the No. 2 overall pick of the 2020 Rule 5 Draft. As a result, the righty rocketed straight from High-A to the big leagues in 2021.

The Rangers didn't hang onto de Geus long, designating him for assignment that June after he posted an 8.44 ERA, 1.650 WHIP and -0.8 WAR in 19 MLB outings. The Arizona Diamondbacks scooped de Geus off waivers and trotted him out for 28 more games that season, only for him to put up a 6.56 ERA, 1.843 WHIP and -0.8 WAR down the stretch.

De Geus got another shot in the Kansas City Royals' farm system in 2023, which he spun into a minor league deal with the Seattle Mariners. He wound up bouncing around between the Mariners, Miami Marlins and Blue Jays in 2024, going 0-2 with a 7.55 ERA, 1.588 WHIP and -0.2 WAR in the big leagues while going 0-4 with a 5.31 ERA and 1.513 WHIP in Triple-A.

It remains to be seen if de Geus is a serious contender to secure an Opening Day roster spot in Pittsburgh, but he is at least entering Spring Training as a member of their 40-man roster.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer covering baseball for “Fastball on SI.’’ He previously covered UCLA Athletics for On SI’s All Bruins site, and is a UCLA graduate, with his work there as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for On SI’s New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Sam lives in Boston.

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