Blue Jays pitcher "teared up" when he found out he'd made Opening Day roster

With Opening Day just around the corner for the Toronto Blue Jays, they’ve still got a bit of time before their fans start to really get emotional about the team.

But for Blue Jays relief pitcher Wes Parsons, he’s already started getting worked up about simply sticking around in the MLB.

Today, The Athletic’s Kaitlyn McGrath shared that Parsons and fellow reliever Nate Pearson had cracked the team’s Opening Day roster.

Nate Pearson and Wes Parsons have lockers here at the Trop, a strong suggestion that they earned jobs on the #BlueJays Opening Day roster.

— Kaitlyn McGrath (@kaitlyncmcgrath) March 27, 2024

JaysJournal’s Eric Treuden was the first to report that Parsons had landed a spot on Toronto’s Opening Day roster

And when the news got to Parsons, well, it seemed to get the better of his emotional side.

“Honestly, I’m in shock. I didn’t see it coming… but I was hopeful,” Parsons said today via Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae, who added that the pitcher “teared up” at hearing the news.

Wes Parsons on making the #BlueJays team:

“Honestly, I’m in shock. I didn’t see it coming.. but I was hopeful.”

Parsons said he “teared up” when he was told.
Tomorrow will be his second opening day (Atlanta 2019).

— Hazel Mae (@thehazelmae) March 27, 2024

Parsons has played parts of three seasons at the MLB level, also suiting up for the Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies. He has a 1-4 record, an ERA of 7.01 and 32 strikeouts in 34 games at the MLB level, across 43.2 career innings. But outside of one game at the MLB level with the Jays last year, Parson had no MLB action from 2020 through 2022, having spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons with the KC Dinos in South Korea’s KBO league.

Meanwhile, Pearson has seven wins, three losses, an ERA of 5.00 and 79 strikeouts across three seasons,  having pitched a total of 75.2 innings for the Jays. Formerly Toronto’s top pitching prospect, fans have been waiting for years to see if he’ll ever become a full-time member of Toronto’s staff, peaking with 35 games out of the bullpen last season, while also making 20 appearances with Triple-A Buffalo.

Playing their last spring training game of 2024 on Monday afternoon against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Blue Jays are just one day away from their 2024 regular season opener on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays.

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