Toronto Blue Jays just picked up MLB's only knuckleball pitcher

Things are about to get weird on the pitching mound for the Toronto Blue Jays. 

Hopefully, in a good way. 

The team has seen a lot of changes hit their pitching staff this week, after a busy trade deadline saw both Kevin Gausman and Adam Macko moved to different teams. In their place, the Blue Jays picked up a wealth of new arms, bringing in José Soriano, Jameson Taillon, and Spencer Arrighetti into the mix. 

None of those additions may be as interesting as the move they made on Wednesday afternoon, however, as they claimed pitcher Matt Waldron off waivers from the San Diego Padres. 

Waldron is currently the only MLB pitcher who regularly relies on the knuckleball.

ROSTER MOVES:

🔹 Claimed RHP Matt Waldron off waivers from the Padres

🔹 Transferred LHP Patrick Corbin to the 60-day IL pic.twitter.com/Cvo7B3pTJn

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 5, 2026

The 29-year-old is part of a dying breed of MLB pitchers, once thought to be completely extinct during this era of the game. Having a knuckleball as a primary pitch in the big leagues is so rare that there was a span of six years between 2016 and 2023 where there were zero knuckleballers in the league. 

Blue Jays fans are familiar with the pitch, as the team boasted knuckleballer R.A. Dickey on the roster for four years, from 2013 and 2016. Dickey was the last knuckball pitcher to win the Cy Young Award, having done so as a member of the New York Mets in 2012. 

Waldron broke into MLB with his knuckleball back in 2023 and had some modest success with it in his first two seasons. Things have taken a bit of a dive for the Nebraska native recently, as an infected hemorrhoid and right brachialis muscle injury have limited him to just 32.2 innings of work this season. 

The Padres DFA'd Waldron back on July 29 after posting a 7.16 ERA while allowing 26 earned runs and 12 home runs in 1o games this season. 

Toronto brings Waldron aboard after getting the news that bullpen arm Patrick Corbin will be headed to the 60-day IL.