BALTIMORE — Brendan Cellucci’s first extended run at triple-A did not go well, a 7.90 ERA in 27.1 innings over 17 outings last summer prompting the Boston Red Sox to first place him on the minor-league development list before releasing him July 28, 2025. At 27, with only one year of promising performance at double-A in 2024 to show for six seasons of pro ball and no interest from other major-league organizations, his career was in real jeopardy.
The lefty from Philadelphia, however, had no intentions of giving up so two days later he headed off to independent ball, dominated in the York Revolution bullpen and helped them win an Atlantic League championship. That led to a winter-ball stint with Criollos de Caguas in Puerto Rico, which then opened the door to a minor-league deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, where he impressed enough at triple-A Buffalo to earn a big-league debut, one that if not for his determination a year ago would never have happened.
“That’s definitely always been the mentality, this has been the dream, so until I flip over every rock, I’m not going to stop,” said Cellucci. “I definitely wanted to continue (after the Red Sox release), see what would happen and just kind of leave it in God’s hands. When I was able to do that, things started working out. I tried not to control anything and just let my path unfold with the hard work, and things really turned out well.”
Cellucci debuted with 1.2 scoreless innings and three strikeouts Sept. 15 against the Detroit Tigers and has logged another 3.2 scoreless innings over three outings since, punching out five more, seizing opportunity amid the relentless attrition that’s eroded every last bit of pitching depth the Blue Jays had in this star-crossed season.
The subsequent roster churn is set to continue right down to the final days as the Blue Jays, on the brink of elimination, work to cover their pitching needs, a task complicated by a doubleheader Wednesday after rain postponed Tuesday’s game at the Baltimore Orioles.
A byproduct of the club’s transaction chaos is that the 40-man roster will require significant housekeeping once all is said and done, with asset-management determinations made on what samples of various sizes from the likes of Cellucci, Jose Rodriguez, Chad Dallas, C.J. Van Eyk and Chase Lee, among several others, mean moving forward.
Currently, their 40-man roster is at 39 with eight pending free agents, but they also have seven players on the 60-day IL who must be restored to the 40. The Blue Jays also have a large number of Rule 5 eligible prospects who merit consideration for addition to the roster to protect them from potential selection, including pitchers Gage Stanifer, Daniel Guerra, Nolan Perry, Josh Stephan, Fernando Perez, Brandon Barriera and Grant Rogers; and position players Jay Harry, R.J. Schreck, Josh Kasevich and Victor Arias.
Even if only a handful are added, once free-agent and trade acquisitions are factored into the mix, space on the 40-man will be at a premium. How effectively the Blue Jays protect their depth, then, is essential, as the 63 different players rostered in the majors shows.
The looming lockout, in this instance, may be beneficial for the Blue Jays as in 2021 the Rule 5 draft was cancelled once that lockout started. If that happens again, they can maintain flexibility with more of those players without the risk of losing any of them.
How much Cellucci or anyone else can cement their place on the 40-man roster over the remaining five games is unclear, but every rep is a chance to catch someone’s eye, to prove what’s possible.
That started for Cellucci with York in the Atlantic League a year ago, when he struck out 32 in 18.1 innings while allowing only four earned runs with nine saves in 18 outings. Through one especially dominant stretch, he retired 39 of 43 batters, 26 via strikeout, and then in a much more demanding league, struck out 19 in 17 innings over 16 games with Caguas while posting a 3.71 ERA.
All along the Blue Jays were watching and three weeks after he was done in Puerto Rico, a minor-league deal followed. In 51.1 innings over 45 games with Buffalo, he struck out 55 and posted a 3.16 ERA, leveraging a fastball that sits 93.5 m.p.h., sinker, sweeper and slider mix that he uses to all four quadrants of the strike zone.
“I’ve had a pretty crazy last year,” said Cellucci. “This means the world. There’s nobody in this locker-room or any locker-room that hasn’t been through a ton of adversity, but I think that’s what shapes you and that makes you, in these moments, feel even better about them. I’m just so grateful to be here and trying to soak it all in as much as I can and just make the most of it.”