Right-hander Zack Godley has chosen to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate, MLB Trade Rumors’ Steve Adams reports (Twitter link). Godley cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Jays earlier this week.

It’s been a tumultuous season for Godley, who began the year in the Diamondbacks’ rotation but fell out of favor after a rough start. A move to the bullpen also didn’t help, as Godley was designated for assignment after posting a 6.39 ERA over 76 innings. Toronto claimed Godley in August, and while his bottom-line results (a 3.94 ERA) were improved, the righty’s 6.8 K/9 and 1.71 K/BB rate over his 16 innings as a Blue Jay didn’t catch the eye of team brass.

Godley is eligible for arbitration for the first time this season, and it remains to be seen if he’ll catch on with another team and prove that tendering a contract to him this winter is a worthy investment, or if clubs could just wait until after the tender deadline has passed before offering him a contract. It’s possible Godley elected free agency because he and his representatives already have a line on an interested team, as the 29-year-old does have two seasons of solid work under his belt in 2017-18. Even a first-year arbitration salary wouldn’t be too pricey given Godley’s struggles in 2019, so a team in need of rotation depth could opt to sign him now rather than risk losing him elsewhere in December.