The Toronto Blue Jays designated right-hander Matt Waldron for assignment on Wednesday, ending his brief tenure with the club after just two weeks. The move came as the corresponding roster action to select the contract of left-hander Brendan Cellucci.
Waldron, 29, had been claimed off waivers from the San Diego Padres on August 5. In four relief appearances for Toronto, he posted a 10.38 ERA over 4 1/3 innings, allowing five earned runs on seven hits while striking out only three batters.
His first two outings were scoreless, but he faltered afterward, including a three-run ninth inning against Boston on Aug. 12 and two runs in two innings against Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
The knuckleballer, one of the last remaining practitioners of the pitch in the majors, has never quite lived up to early promise. Drafted by Cleveland in the 18th round in 2019 out of Nebraska, Waldron developed the knuckler and reached the majors with the Padres in 2023.
That year he showed flashes with a 4.35 ERA in 41 1/3 innings. In 2024 he made 26 starts and logged 146 2/3 innings with a 4.91 ERA, but finished 7-11 as a below-average rotation piece.
Those were the high-water marks. Waldron has been a consistent disappointment since. He spent most of 2025 in Triple-A, posting a 6.67 ERA there after a lone, ineffective major-league start.
This season he compiled a 7.54 ERA in 37 innings across 14 appearances (three starts) between San Diego and Toronto, with a career 9-17 record and 5.29 ERA in 229 2/3 innings.
His strikeout rate has stayed modest, command issues have surfaced at times, and the unique pitch has not translated into consistent big-league success.
Waldron is out of options, which is why San Diego designated him in late July and why Toronto could not send him to the minors without first exposing him to waivers.
With the trade deadline already passed, he will go through waivers again. Other clubs might take a low-cost look given his pre-arbitration status and the novelty of the knuckleball, but his recent results make a claim unlikely.
If he clears, the Blue Jays could keep him as non-roster depth; he has not been outrighted before and lacks the service time to reject the assignment.
For a pitcher who once looked like a potential mid-rotation or long-relief option, the trajectory has been a letdown. Toronto gave him a short audition and quickly moved on.
Waldron’s career now sits at a familiar crossroads: another waiver period, more questions about whether the knuckler can ever become more than a curiosity.
