Matt Boyd selected by Blue Jays, Rob Rasmussen optioned to Buffalo

Immediately following a 12-2 victory over the Rangers Friday night, the Blue Jays announced that they have optioned left-handed reliever Rob Rasmussen to the triple-A Buffalo Bisons in order to create a spot for left-handed starter Matt Boyd. Boyd was the Jays' sixth round pick in 2013 and finds himself added to the 40-man roster in his third professional season.

Boyd, 24, was widely speculated as the callup after he was scratched from his scheduled start for the Bisons on Thursday, although the Blue Jays tried to keep it a secret. On Friday morning, Sportsnet's Jeff Blair reported that Boyd was not with the Bisons on the road in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Boyd will become the 42nd Blue Jays pitcher to make his major league debut as a starter, the last being an awful Sean Nolin back on May 24, 2013. The Jays are 19-22 historically in such games, with the starter averaging just over five innings and earning a mean game score of 45.

According to Minor League Ball's Ezra Jones, Boyd's pedestrian fastball out of the draft was elevated to a plus pitch after a successful regimen with weighted balls. He has three breaking balls: a curve, a change, and a slider.

Rasmussen appeared in Friday night's game, giving up a hard-hit single to Mitch Moreland in an otherwise clean ninth.