Blue Jays get bullpen help in Canadian Zach Pop, bring back Anthony Bass

The Toronto Blue Jays solidified their bullpen hours before Tuesday’s Major League Baseball trade deadline, acquiring relievers Anthony Bass and Zach Pop from the Miami Marlins for shortstop prospect Jordan Groshans.

The Jays also acquired a player to be named later in the deal.

Bass, 34, has a 2-3 record with a 1.41 earned-run average over 44 2/3 innings with the Marlins this season, with 45 strikeouts and 10 walks.

He spent the 2020 season with Toronto, going 2-3 with a 3.51 ERA in 26 appearances.

Bass will get the chance to pitch in meaningful games in front of Blue Jays fans, which he didn’t have the opportunity to do in his first stint with the club. The Blue Jays played home games during the shortened 2020 season at Sahlen Field, home of the triple-A Buffalo Bisons, because of COVID-19 restrictions at the Canada-U.S. border.

“You’re going to a team that has a chance of going to the post-season, which as players is what we always want to do,” Bass told reporters in Miami before the Marlins hosted the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday.

“Our end goal is to win the World Series. So that part is exciting, going to Toronto for that opportunity.”

The 25-year-old Pop, from Brampton, Ont., has a 2-0 record with a 3.60 ERA in 18 appearances with the Marlins this season, his second in the majors.

He was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 23rd round of the 2014 MLB draft, but decided not to sign and instead played collegiately at the University of Kentucky.

Pop, who says he grew up a Blue Jays fan, called news of the trade “bittersweet” but said he is looking forward to playing close to home.

“It’s pretty special to be able to go back home and see my family and play for the Blue Jays,” he told reporters in Miami before the Marlins hosted the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday.

“I’ve got a lot of friends, a lot of people rooting for them right now, and to be a part of what they’re doing over there is pretty amazing.”

Groshans, 22, was selected 12th overall by the Blue Jays in the 2018 MLB draft.

In 67 games with the triple-A Buffalo Bisons, he batted .250 with a home run and 24 runs batted in.

In other moves, left-handed pitcher Anthony Banda was been designated for assignment and lefty Andrew Vasquez was been claimed off outright waivers by Philadelphia.