Blue Jays release controversial reliever Anthony Bass

Reliever Anthony Bass has cleared waivers and been granted his unconditional release from the Blue Jays, tweets Mitch Bannon of Sports Illustrated. Toronto designated Bass for assignment last Friday.

Bass was initially acquired from the Marlins at last summer’s deadline. He pitched well down the stretch, leading the Jays to exercise a $3M option to bring him back for 2023.

The veteran right-hander struggled in mostly low-leverage situations this year. He posted a 4.95 ERA through 20 innings. Bass’ average fastball speed sat in the same 95 mph range as last season, but his swinging strike percentage and strikeout rate each dropped a few points. The free passes also went in the wrong direction, as his walk rate jumped from 7.3% to 10.2%.

Bass’ on-field performance is only part of the story. Last month, he shared an Instagram video (which he later deleted) that called for a boycott of corporations that had supported the LGBTQ community. That video had called those businesses’ support of LGBTQ individuals “evil” and “demonic” (as chronicled by Keegan Matheson of MLB.com). Bass subsequently conceded that posting the video was a “distraction” but reaffirmed he stands by his personal beliefs. The reliever apologized to general manager Ross Atkins, manager John Schneider and the Blue Jays’ clubhouse for, as Atkins put it, “creating any harm and for hurting others.”

One day after Atkins and Bass met with the media, Toronto took him off the 40-man roster. The GM said the move was primarily “a baseball decision” but conceded the “distraction was a small part of it and something that we had to factor in,” via Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.

After clearing waivers, Bass is now free to explore opportunities elsewhere. The Jays will be on the hook for the remainder of the $3M salary. Any team that signs him would only owe him the prorated portion of the $720K league minimum for whatever time he spends on their big league roster.