How a quiet Easter morning turned into a stunning Blue Jays big league debut for Paxton Schultz

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In the litter of a dispiriting 8-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Sunday, it would be easy to bury a Major League Baseball debut that was as exhilarating as they come for a relief pitcher.

If you weren’t aware of the name Paxton Schultz when some mid-morning Blue Jays roster moves trickled out, you probably weren’t alone.

The 28-year-old pride of Utah Valley State was so far off the Jays radar last month that he didn’t even enter the big league clubhouse during spring training.

But desperate bullpen times call for desperate measures and, with it, an introduction to the bigs that Schultz and his family won’t soon forget.

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Yes, it was quite the morning and early afternoon for the unheralded — and for many unheard of — Schultz.

There was the drive from Buffalo, where he had been pitching solidly for the triple-A affiliate Bisons, to Toronto as an insurance body for the battered bullpen.

There was news that came basically as he was about to exit the Gardiner Expressway that he was to be activated for the afternoon contest against the Seattle Mariners to fill a pair of sudden holes in the overused bullpen.

And with that, upon arrival there was a quick visit to Jays manager John Schneider’s Rogers Centre office, not just to share a greeting, but to sign his first big-league contract.

If that wasn’t a bountiful enough Easter morn for the personable Schultz, what followed was a delight.

“A lot happened in 24 hours,” Schultz understated. “And it was special.”

Indeed it was. When Toronto starter Easton Lucas struggled mightily — giving up three homers and six runs through 1.2 innings against the Mariners — Schneider had no choice but to give the lefty the hook.

Enter Schultz — with runners on the corners and two out, to boot.

Unfazed or shocked — or likely both — Schultz went to work striking out Donovan Solano to end that debacle.

Over the next four innings, he struck out seven more — the eight Ks in total matching the most by a reliever in his MLB debut.

Did anyone see this coming beyond some who had monitored the progress of a lower-tier prospect in his four undistinguished years in the organization? Schultz certainly didn’t see it happening this soon in 2025.

“To be honest, not at all,” Schultz said afterward when asked if he could have envisioned the debut as recently as spring training, the smile not leaving his face. “I didn’t get a big league camp invite. I talked to one of our mental performance guys and he pulled me aside. He knows how hard I’d been working in the off-season and he told me ‘delayed but not denied.’

“I just had that mentality. I knew what I needed to do and if I took care of it, then this opportunity would come.

“I’m glad it did.”

No one is expecting Schultz to be an immediate solution — short or long-term — for a void in the Jays bullpen after Nick Sandlin (lat) was placed on the injured list on Sunday and battered Jacob Barnes was designated for assignment.

But Schultz’s electric performance not only allowed the Jays to hang around, but it cemented a ticket on the charter flight to Houston, where the Jays begin a six-game trip against the Astros on Monday night. And, even in the loss, it was an uplifting performance for those in the clubhouse who understand the sense of accomplishment associated with a major league debut.

“Wow,” Schneider said of Schultz’s sizzle. “For a guy who came up here in a car this morning and signed a contract, that was amazing. That’s just a day he’s going to remember for a long time. It was pretty impressive.”

Back-to-back losses against the Mariners weren’t exactly the way the Jays had hoped to finish off what was a 3-3 home stand before hitting the road for six — three against he Astros and a three-game weekend series in the Bronx against the AL East-leading Yankees.

But Schultz certainly will treasure the moments, likely more deeply once they sink in. There was the ball catcher Tyler Heineman tossed to the dugout after the first strikeout. And there was the game scorecard the team gave him afterwards, a memento he planned to get signed by his teammates.

“It was something you work towards for your whole life,” Schultz said. “To go out there and perform and have success, it was unbelievable.

“I feel like it happened so fast. I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it, but once I got out there and threw the first pitch, those nerves and the anxiety all went away. (Then) it was just doing what I know how to do.”