Royals sign recently released Blue Jays pitcher to minor league contract

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The Kansas City Royals agreed to a minor league contract with veteran right-handed pitcher Justin Topa on Tuesday, according to MLB.com’s transactions tracker. The 35-year-old reliever has been assigned to the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers. The Toronto Blue Jays released him from a minor league deal on Sunday.

Topa’s latest move brings him back to the American League Central where he began the 2026 season with the Minnesota Twins. During his time with Minnesota, Topa appeared in 23 games and finished with an 8.05 ERA across 19 innings. He recorded 12 strikeouts, while his 13% strikeout rate and 12% walk rate were both below average. His 54.4% ground-ball rate remained a positive part of his performance.

After being designated for assignment and released by the Twins in May, Topa signed a minor league contract with the Blue Jays on May 30. He joined Triple-A Buffalo on June 3 and made eight appearances for the Bisons, compiling a 3.38 ERA over eight innings. During that stretch, he allowed four runs and racked up four strikeouts.

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Topa previously experienced major league success with the Seattle Mariners in 2023. In his age-32 season, he logged a 2.61 ERA over 69 innings, along with a 21.9% strikeout rate, a 6.5% walk rate and a 56.7% ground-ball rate. He was traded to Minnesota before the 2024 season, but a torn patellar tendon in his left knee limited him to only three appearances that year. In 2025, he returned to action and posted a 3.90 ERA in 60 innings, with an 18.3% strikeout rate, a 6.7% walk rate and a 47.7% ground-ball rate.

Kansas City added Topa while dealing with pitching depth issues. The Royals have been without starters Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic for extended periods, and Ragans will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing UCL surgery. The bullpen has also been affected by the absences of Carlos Estevez, James McArthur, Nick Mears and Connor Seabold.

Topa provides Kansas City with additional pitching depth without occupying a major league roster spot. The Royals could make further roster changes before the trade deadline.

‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’

‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source sports.yahoo.com ’