Blue Jays Castoff Leaves MLB Shortly After Disastrous Toronto Outing
Former Toronto Blue Jays reliever Austin Voth has signed a short-term, six-week contract worth $150,000 with the Samsung Lions in South Korea's KBO. This move comes after a turbulent year for Voth, who bounced between multiple MLB organizations, including a forgettable stint with the Blue Jays. His time in Toronto ended on a difficult note, highlighted by an outing where he surrendered five earned runs and three home runs in less than four innings. The 33-year-old right-hander's KBO opportunity serves as an injury replacement and a chance to reset his career after struggling to find a consistent big-league role. Having previously pitched in Japan, Voth continues his baseball journey internationally, seeking new opportunities outside of Major League Baseball.
The Toronto Blue Jays cycled through plenty of pitching options during the first half of the season as injuries and inconsistency forced the club to search for innings. Not every experiment worked, and one veteran reliever's brief stint with the organization quickly became a forgettable chapter that now marks one of his final stints of the year in affiliated baseball.
Just weeks after his latest appearance in Toronto, former Blue Jays reliever Austin Voth has opted for his next opportunity overseas.
While the Blue Jays continue evaluating their roster heading toward the stretch run, they’ve received news that Voth is taking his career overseas after landing a new contract in South Korea’s Korean Baseball Organization (KBO).
“The Samsung Lions signed former major league pitcher Austin Voth as their short-term injury replacement Monday,” Yoo Jee-ho reported for Yonhap News Agency. “The Lions said Voth will make US$150,000 on a six-week contract as a temporary fill-in for starter Ariel Jurado.”
The move comes just days after Voth elected to cut ties with the Texas Rangers organization, where he was unable to find a big-league fit following a harsh stint in Toronto.
“It has been an eventful year for Voth,” Anthony Franco wrote for MLB Trade Rumors. “He returned to affiliated ball over the winter on a minor league deal with the (Chicago) White Sox. Voth didn’t reach the big leagues with Chicago but has logged brief stints at the highest level for the Blue Jays and Twins. He has allowed 12 runs on 19 hits and six walks across 10 combined innings.”
For the 33-year-old, the KBO opportunity offers a chance to reset after bouncing between multiple organizations during the 2026 campaign.
Voth's brief Blue Jays tenure ended with an especially difficult outing, which illustrated why Toronto ultimately moved on.
Facing the division rival Baltimore Orioles, the 33-year-old worked less than four innings while allowing five hits, five earned runs and four walks without recording a strikeout. He also surrendered three home runs — including back-to-back blasts by Pete Alonso and Samuel Basallo — and surrendered a five-run lead.
That appearance proved to be one of the roughest outings of Voth's season before he later resurfaced with the Minnesota Twins and eventually signed a minor league contract with the Rangers.
Now, his latest stop takes him back to Asia, where he will once again attempt to revive his career after he pitched a season in Japan. While the contract is only a six-week agreement designed to replace an injured starter, a strong performance could create additional opportunities in the KBO or elsewhere internationally.
For Blue Jays fans, Voth's tenure will likely be remembered as a short-lived depth move during a turbulent first half. But for the veteran right-hander, his baseball journey continues, even if it now unfolds far from Major League Baseball.