He was outrighted off the Blue Jays' 40-man roster in August, and opted for a steady paycheck in Japan over having to work his way back to the big leagues. The 29-year-old righty has a career 4.92 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 210 strikeouts in 230.2 MLB innings.

After clearing waivers earlier in the week, the Blue Jays will retain Bolsinger within their system as a member of their Triple-A club. Bolsinger owns a strong 1.60 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP across 41.3 innings at Triple-A this season.

Bolsinger, who was also DFA'd and sent to Triple-A in June, has had a rough 2017 campaign with the Blue Jays, posting a 6.31 ERA over 11 appearances (five starts) while struggling with command en route to 27 walks. After allowing four earned runs on four hits and three walks in Friday's blowout loss to Houston, the 29-year-old will likely find himself back in the minors -- assuming he clears waivers. Taylor Cole will take his spot in the Toronto bullpen.

Bolsinger was activated from the 10-day disabled list over the weekend after he was briefly sidelined due to right knee inflammation and made an appearance in Sunday's win over the Angels, covering 2.1 innings and giving up one run. Though Bolsinger has submitted an underwhelming 5.49 ERA and 1.66 WHIP over 10 appearances (five starts) for the Blue Jays this season, there aren't many other appealing alternatives on the 40-man roster, so he could get the first crack at filling the void left by Liriano's departure. If that's the case, Bolsinger would have a tough test right off the bat, as he'd be in line for a road start against the American League-leading Astros during the upcoming weekend.