After yesterday’s blowout loss to the New York Yankees, the Toronto Blue Jays relief corps sits at a collective 4.28 ERA on the year and ranks 20th in the MLB.
This is surely influenced by the 10 earned runs the relievers gave up in yesterday’s game alone and the Yankees squad is one of the best in the league right now.
This game in particular showcased that the Jays bullpen is uniquely divided when it comes to which pitchers belong in the right scenario of either a close game compared to a blowout win or loss.
There is a group of relievers who can be trusted in high-pressure scenarios, made up of David Phelps, Adam Cimber, Tim Mayza, Yimi Garcia, and Jordan Romano to close out games.
Each one of these pitchers has done well this year, with only Garcia holding an ERA above the 3.00 mark with each reliever seeing 23+ innings on the year (except for Mayza, who missed time on the IL). A circle of trust if you will.
On the other end, there are the depth relievers who are there to eat up innings and have had a mix of good and poor outings along the way, mostly bouncing between AAA and the MLB throughout the year.
This group is ever-changing depending on the situation or who is on the IL, but right now, it consists of Julian Merryweather (currently on IL), Trevor Richards, and Trent Thornton.
who was doing well since being called up in late May but got beaten around by the Yankees to the tune of five earned runs last night.
Looking at the bigger picture, with the roster downsize coming Monday in regards to a max 13 pitcher rule, the Jays will have five members in the rotation and eight members in the bullpen.
While the club may be hard-pressed to find outside help before July comes around, as teams are still on the fence in regards to buying or selling for the playoffs,