Blue Jays take a shot on sinker specialist Spencer Miles in MLB Rule 5 draft

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Blue Jays went to the Winter Meetings’ equivalent of the bottom of the ninth in Wednesday to add to their roster.

In the Rule 5 draft, which opens up the possibility of teams claiming players exposed on other rosters, the Jays selected right-handed pitcher Spencer Miles from the San Francisco Giants.

Selecting a player in the draft, the traditional closing bit of business at the annual meetings, is often a crap shoot, but the Jays clearly see something attractive in the intriguing 25-year-old..

The 6-foot-3 right-hander is, on one hand, an injury-reclamation project given that he missed the 2025 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

A fourth-round draft pick by the Giants in 2022, Miles also missed most of the 2023 season after undergoing back surgery.

That said, the once well-regarded prospect did return to throwing in games in October, when he pitched in the Arizona Fall League, where he would have been scouted by Jays personnel.

In his first two starts in the AFL, Miles was solid, giving up just one hit in five innings of work while striking out seven hitters.

Projected as a starter, scouts have been mesmerized by his sinker that can hit the high-90s when he’s healthy as part of an arsenal that includes a four-seam fastball, a curveball and a changeup.

Though on some level he provides long-shot pitching depth, of note is that Miles hasn’t pitched above the single-A level in the pros. Health concerns have been a big factor in limiting his trajectory.

“Obviously I’d like to make the big leagues next season,” Miles told mlb.com in October. “We’ll see what happens and where I start. I’d like to think of myself as kind of a wild card. I’m a strike-thrower, older guy. We’ll see.”

The Jays see him as a potential reliever and were attracted to the sinker that has generated the most attention in his performances.

Under terms of Rule 5 selections, Miles will have to remain on the Jays 26-man roster for the duration of the 2026 season (unless he’s injured). If the Jays remove him from the 26-man, he would be available on waivers and then offered back to the Giants if he goes unclaimed.

With that in mind, the Jays likely will give Miles an extended look in spring training to determine whether he’d be of help to the current pitching staff.

Meanwhile, the Jays did not lose any players they left exposed by not being on their 40-man roster.