Ahead of their weekend series against the San Diego Padres, the Blue Jays decided to shake up their bullpen by making a trade.
On Friday afternoon, Toronto reportedly sent reliever Tommy Nance to the Minnesota Twins, ending the right-hander’s three-year stint with the team.
The deal initially was reported by ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez and Jeff Passan, with the Blue Jays receiving Ryan Sprock – a third base and catching prospect – in return for the steady bullpen arm.
The Twins also will receive international pool space money in the deal.
Will the Blue Jays miss Nance?
The 35-year-old Nance got a late start to his major-league career, making his MLB debut at the age of 30 with the Chicago Cubs.
He played one season in Chicago before being selected off waivers by the Miami Marlins towards the end of spring training in 2022. He was with the Marlins organization for two seasons, though he didn’t play in 2023 due to injury.
He was granted free agency after the 2023 season and then signed with the Blue Jays.
The native of Long Beach, Calif., became a steady hand out of the bullpen and posted a solid 1.99 ERA during the 2025 season. This year, Nance made 32 appearances for the Jays notching a record of 1-2 with a 3.82 earned run average over 33 innings pitched.
For his career, Nance is 6-9 with a 4.25 ERA in 144 appearances.
Who is Ryan Sprock?
Sprock was selected in the eighth round of the 2025 MLB Draft by the Twins and has impressed during his brief time playing professional baseball.
The 21-year-old is hitting .297 over 67 games in single-A so far this season and, according to Mitch Bannon of the Athletic, led the entire Florida State League with an OPS of .855 before his promotion to high-A last week. Sprock has hit five home runs and posted 38 RBIs.
The Blue Jays open their series with the Padres on Friday with first pitch scheduled for 9:40 p.m. Shane Bieber will start for the Jays while lefty JP Sears toes the rubber for the hosts.