In an era of Major League Baseball dominated by velocity, Toronto Blue Jays reliever Trent Thornton carved out a career as a curveball specialist. The former North Carolina Tar Heel’s ability to spin the ball saw him rise to become the Blue Jays’ No. Debuting with the Blue Jays as a starter on March 31, 2019, Thornton got off to a promising start. Starting the fourth game of the season when, to that point, no Blue Jays starter had allowed a single run over 19 innings. Blue Jays Trade Thornton AgainAfter repeated occurrences of his elbow issues over four-plus seasons split between Toronto and the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, the Blue Jays dealt Thornton at the 2023 trade deadline to the Seattle Mariners for minor-league infielder Mason McCoy.