The Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a deal to acquire right-handed reliever Chae Lee from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for a minor league player, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
Blue Jays acquiring RHP Chase Lee from Tigers for a minor leaguer, sources tell me and @WillSammon
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 12, 2025
Per The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon, the Blue Jays are sending Johan Simon, a left-handed relief prospect, back to the Tigers to complete the deal. Simon is 24 years old and has pitched in the Blue Jays’ organization since signing as an international free agent in 2021. He finished this year at Double-A with the Dunedin Blue Jays.
Lee, 27, made his major-league debut in 2025, and pitched in 32 games. He finished his first season in the majors with a 4.10 earned-run average and a 4-1 record over 37.1 innings pitched.
Originally drafted by the Texas Rangers in the sixth round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft, Lee joined the Tigers at the trade deadline in 2024 as part of the deal that sent reliever Andrew Chafin to Texas.
Lee is a sidearm reliever that uses a heavy mix of pitches, with a sweeper and sinker his two most common choices, per StatCast. His fastball tops out in the low 90s.
Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins told reporters earlier in December that the bullpen was one of the primary areas the team would target in seeking improvements on last year’s campaign.
The Blue Jays just completed one of their most successful seasons in franchise history, falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in extra innings in Game 7 of the World Series.
