The Toronto Blue Jays are set to promote right-hander Yariel Rodriguez, according to a report.

Toronto signed the Cuban-born pitcher this past offseason.

Rodriguez is already on the club's 40-man roster. He signed a five-year, $32 million deal this winter.

If the bitter cold wasn't enough, the Yankees' home opener also featured a rare earthquake Friday morning.

Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres was taking batting practice from bench coach Brad Ausmus on the field when the earthquake rattled the region. The Blue Jays weren't on the field yet. The players in the visitors' clubhouse didn't react to the shaking.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who was on the field during the quake, said he felt a vibration on his feet. He didn't realize it was an earthquake. Boone, a USC product, noted he was used to tremors after growing up in Southern California.

Ronel Blanco, making his first start of the season, baffled the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night, pitching a no-hitter in the Houston Astros' 10-0 victory.

Blanco, coming off a modest 2-1 season in which he finished with a 4.50 ERA, ignited an Astros' club that was coming off a four-game sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees, giving Houston its first victory of the season and Major League Baseball its first no-hitter of the year. He threw 105 pitches, posting seven strikeouts along the way, with just two walks.

Pitchers Genesis Cabrera of the Toronto Blue Jays and Yohan Ramirez of the New York Mets were suspended for three games each by Major League Baseball on Sunday for their actions in separate games.

And Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was suspended for one game as a result of Ramírez's actions, Major League Baseball senior vice president for on-field operations Michael Hill said.

The Toronto Blue Jays have announced that Bowden Francis has made the club's season-opening starting rotation.

He's tentatively set to be the Blue Jays' No. 4 starter.

A seventh-round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2017, Francis has yet to make a Major League start. He landed with the Blue Jays in the 2021 deal that sent Rowdy Tellez to the Brewers.

The Toronto Blue Jays have traded infielder Santiago Espinal to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for minor league right-hander Chris McElvain.

Espinal, who was an All-Star in 2022, hit .248 with two home runs and 25 RBI in 88 games last season. He is set to earn $2,725,000 this season.

McElvain, 23, went 5-5 with a 3.75 ERA in 23 games last season, including 19 starts, splitting time between two levels of Class-A.

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen will be sidelined at least two weeks with a small fracture in his right wrist.

Manager John Schneider announced Friday that Jansen, 28, sustained a broken pisiform bone when he was hit by a pitch on Wednesday.

Joey Votto has agreed to a minor league deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. 

Votto was born and raised 25 minutes from the Rogers Centre.

Votto, 40, played 17 seasons for the Cincinnati Reds, earning six All-Star appearances and winning NL MVP.

Votto struggled the past two seasons, batting .205 in 2022 and .202 in 2023.

Heading into his fourth full Major League season, Bo Bichette is taking on a leadership role with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Bichette spoke with manager John Schneider at the start of camp about being more vocal.

"He relayed that quietly in years past and this year really took a step forward and said 'we need to be better.' It's not just players. It's everybody," Schneider said.

"We always as coaches think that and when players come in and are delivering that message, it's awesome."

In an interview with the Toronto Sun, Bichette discussed new goals.

"We've been decent," he said. "We made the playoffs. I don't think it's been bad. We just need to be better."

Josh Donaldson, who won the American League MVP during a 13-year career, announced his retirement Monday.

Donaldson, 38, made the announcement on the podcast of former player Sean Casey.

Donaldson finishes his career with 279 home runs, 1,310 hits and a long-earned reputation as a someone who competed with an edge, unafraid of offending opponents. He had his best season in 2015 with Toronto, when he hit 41 homers and drove in a league-high 123 runs, while scoring an MLB-high 122 runs. Donaldson received 23 of 30 first-place votes for the MVP, finishing ahead of Mike Trout for the award.