By Andrew Hendriks

Canadian Baseball Network

In continuation of what has become a disturbing first-half trend, the Blue Jays placed left-handed reliever J.P. Howell on the 10-day disabled list with left shoulder tightness ahead of Monday's series opener in Oakland.

Needing to supplement their 25-man roster, Toronto used Howell’s vacancy to purchase the contract of fellow southpaw Jeff Beliveau from triple-A Buffalo.

Having last pitched at the major league level in 2015, Beliveau has appeared in 17 games with the Herd this season while posting an ERA of 3.09 to go along with 43 strikeouts against only 14 walks.

For his big league career, the 30-year-old native of Providence, R.I., has pitched to an overall ERA of 4.00 with a WHIP of 1.511 across 58 games.

Signed to a one-year, $3M deal in the off-season, Howell’s 2017 campaign has been marred with inconsistencies thus far. Through 8 2/3 innings of work, the veteran of 12 major league seasons has allowed eight earned runs and posted an unsightly WHIP of 2.192.

Acquired to serve as specialist out of the Blue Jays bullpen, left–handed batters have hit an inflated .316 when facing the former first-rounder this season. For context, that’s nearly 100 points high than his career average. As a whole, opposing batters are slashing .324/.432/.568 against Howell in limited action.

Ironically, Beliveau’s emergence within the Rays minor league system, coupled with a high free-agent price tag, helped key Howell’s exit from Tampa Bay in the winter of 2013.

- Follow Andrew Hendriks on Twitter (@77hendriks)