Toronto Blue Jays Designate Anthony Bass For Assignment Ahead of Pride Weekend

The Toronto Blue Jays, who just on Thursday announced that controversial pitcher Anthony Bass would catch the ceremonial first pitch during the Pride Night festivities on Friday, have now designated Bass for assignment.

It's been an interesting 24 hours for the Toronto Blue Jays with regards to relief pitcher Anthony Bass.

First, the team announced on Thursday that Bass would catch the ceremonial first pitch on Friday night during the team's kickoff to Pride Weekend.

This was a big deal and caused a great deal of response considering that Bass had recently gotten in hot water for sharing a video with homophobic rhetoric on his Instagram page. You can learn more about that here.

Then, on Friday, before that game and ceremonial first pitch ever happened, the Blue Jays elected to designate Bass for assignment and activate pitcher Mitch White from the injured list.

ROSTER MOVES: RHP Mitch White has been reinstated from the 60-day IL and will be active for tonight’s game 

RHP Anthony Bass has been designated for assignment

ROSTER MOVES:

🔹 RHP Mitch White has been reinstated from the 60-day IL and will be active for tonight’s game

🔹 RHP Anthony Bass has been designated for assignment pic.twitter.com/O36mqtPENc

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 9, 2023

By making this move, the team is removing Bass from the 40-man roster. They will have seven days to trade him, release him or outright him to the minors.

The 35-year-old Bass is in his 12th year in the major leagues. He's pitched for the Padres, Astros, Rangers, Cubs, Mariners, Marlins and Blue Jays. He's been with Toronto for two different tours: 2020 and 2022-2023.

He's a lifetime 16-28 pitcher with a 3.91 ERA. He has 15 career saves.

This year, he's 0-0 with a 4.95 ERA. He's thrown 20 innings and has struck out 19.

As for White, he's a career 3-10 pitcher with a 4.78 ERA.

The Blue Jays take on the Minnesota Twins on Friday at 7:07 p.m. ET.

Follow Fastball on FanNation in social media

Continue to follow our Fastball on FanNation coverage on social media by LIKING us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.

You can also subscribe to "The Payoff Pitch" podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.