June 21, 2021

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

The Toronto Blue Jays have signed Canadian reliever John Axford (Port Dover, Ont.), according to a report from Sportsnet’s Jamie Campbell.

Axford will reportedly undergo a physical before the deal becomes official.

This is not a surprising development given the Blue Jays’ recent bullpen woes and the fact that Axford, who resides in the Toronto, Ont., area, showcased a 95-to-98 mph fastball pitching in relief for the Canadian national team at the Americas Olympic qualifier earlier this month.

The 38-year-old right-hander, who has served as an analyst on Sportsnet’s Blue Jays Central in recent months, has not thrown a pitch in the big leagues since September 21, 2018 when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He signed with the Blue Jays prior to spring training in 2019, but he would make just one minor league appearance for the club that year due to an elbow injury.

In 2018, the 6-foot-5 right-hander went 4-1 with a 4.41 ERA in 45 appearances for the Blue Jays before he was dealt to the Dodgers at the trade deadline.

The Canuck reliever has registered a 3.87 ERA and notched 144 saves in 543 big league appearances in his 10-year major league career that has included stops with the Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, Oakland A’s, Blue Jays and Dodgers.