TORONTO – Right-handed pitching prospect Juaron Watts-Brown signed with the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.
He was drafted by Toronto in the third round of this year’s Major League Baseball draft.
The Blue Jays had already signed 15 of their draft picks as well as three non-drafted free agents.
Watts-Brown was the last prospect of Toronto’s picks from the first 10 rounds of the draft to sign.
The 21-year-old Watts-Brown earned a 6-5 record with a 5.03 earned-run average over 83 1/3 innings pitched, striking out 125 for Oklahoma State University this NCAA season.
He has a 10-9 record over his U.S. college career with a 4.39 ERA and 235 strikeouts, having played at Long Beach State in 2022.
The Blue Jays also announced that left-handed pitcher Génesis Cabrera would be active for Sunday’s game in Seattle against the Mariners.
Right-handed pitcher Nate Pearson was optioned to Toronto’s triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, N.Y.
The Blue Jays got Cabrera in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
Pearson gave up four runs in the seventh inning in Toronto’s 9-8 loss to the Mariners on Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 23, 2023.