Brian Wolfe, former Blue Jays pitcher, dies at 45 after ‘torturous battle’

Kathleen PerriconeThu, September 17, 2026 at 7:44 PM UTC

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Brian Wolfe pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2009Credit: Ronald Martinez/GettyKey Points -

Brian Wolfe, a former pitcher with the Toronto Blue Jays, has died at 45.

His wife, Rachell Wolfe, revealed he passed “after a really really difficult and torturous battle.”

Wolfe also played in Japan for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and was a teammate of Shohei Ohtani.

Brian Wolfe, a former MLB pitcher who played several seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, has died unexpectedly at the age of 45.

“[I] am sorry to write this but after a really really difficult and torturous battle Brian Wolfe passed away early this morning,” his wife Rachell Wolfe announced Wednesday on Facebook. No other details were immediately provided.

“We are saddened to learn of the passing of former Blue Jay, Brian Wolfe,” the team stated in a social media tribute to the right-handed pitcher who made 72 appearances over his three seasons between 2007 and 2009. “Our thoughts are with his loved ones during this difficult time.”

Following his tenure with the Blue Jays, Wolfe played overseas in Japan, spending nine years with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, the top team in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball and another two seasons with the league’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

During his final season with the Fighters, Wolfe’s teammate was future Los Angeles Dodger superstar Shohei Ohtani.

Wolfe’s time on the field was cut short in 2015 due to Tommy John surgery, a common procedure for baseball players — named after 26-season MLB pitcher Tommy John, who died last month at the age of 83 — that reconstructs the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow.

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But he bounced back and following the surgery, Wolfe, a father of two, signed with the Seibu Lions in Tokyo and played until 2018, when he retired at the age of 37.

The Fullerton, Calif., native was selected in the sixth round of the 1999 draft by the Minnesota Twins and spent six years pitching in the team’s minor league system before moving on to the Milwaukee Brewers and eventually being traded to the Blue Jays in 2006.

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Former MLB outfielder Brandon Barnes, who was close friends with Wolfe, posted an emotional video on Facebook following the tragic news.

“Life is too short, and I know everybody says that, but I just lost one of my best friends and a mentor,” said Barnes. “And those words hit a lot frickin’ different right now because eventually, there’ll be a last conversation with somebody you love. A last phone call. A last laugh. A last text. And a last time you see them… ‘Eventually’ isn’t guaranteed in this life. So if you love somebody, tell them. If somebody changed your life, make sure they know that.”

on Entertainment Weekly

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Sports”