Article: Blue Jays Week in Review: Bullpen Concern Lingers as August Ends

[Jesse Burrill]

Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 8/25 through Sun, 8/31
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Record Last Week: 3-3 (Overall: 79-58)
Run Differential Last Week: + 1 (Overall: + 56)
Standings: First Place in AL East (3.0 Games Up on NYY), Second in AL (0.5 games behind DET)

Last Week’s Results
Game 132: MIN 4 - TOR 10
Scherzer: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Kirk: 1-2, HR (11), 2 RBI, 2 BB
Giménez: 2-3 HR (6), RBI, BB, 3 R
Lukes: 2-5, 2 RBI, 2 R  

Game 133: MIN 7 - TOR 5
Bassitt: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
Springer: 4-5, 2 HR (23,24), 2 RBI, 4 R
Lukes: 3-4, R
Bichette: 2-4

Game 134: MIN 8 - TOR 9
Lauer: 4.2 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Schneider: 2-3 2 HR (9,10), 2 RBI, BB
Giménez: 2-3 HR (7), 2 RBI
Bichette: 2-5, 2 RBI

Game 135: MIL 7 - TOR 2
Bieber: 5.1IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Bichette: 2-4, R
Schneider: 1-3, 2 RBI
Kirk: 1-3, 2B, BB

Game 136: MIL 4 - TOR 1
Gausman: 7.0 IP, 4 H. 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
Straw: 3-3, 2B
France: 2-3
Bichette: 1-4

Game 137: MIL 4 - TOR 8
Scherzer: 4.0 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Lukes: 2-5, 2 RBI
Straw: 2-3, 2 RBI, BB
Springer: 2-4, RBI, 2 R

Highlights
Myles Straw: Here we are at the end of August, and yet Myles Straw appears here yet again as another highlight of the week. Everything he’s done, though, has proven that he’s worthy of that spot. He spent the early part of the week on the bench, but since Varsho got hit in the hand and has been out of the lineup the last few days, Straw has continued to be productive. He went 5-8 on the week, including a double and a walk, and he was doing it on defence too; he threw out William Contreras trying to advance to third on a fly ball. Oh, and he robbed a homerun too. He’s done everything the Blue Jays have asked for and more.

George Springer: I haven’t been keeping track of how many times a player has appeared as a highlight winner on this list, but George Springer has to be a leading candidate. He did it again this week, highlighted by a two-home run day on Tuesday. The week as a whole saw him go 10-24 with those two home runs and a double. He’s also spent a good chunk of time in left field this week, as the Blue Jays have had to rotate some other players in the DH spot, adding in a team-high two stolen bases this week as well, and George Springer just keeps doing it.

Tommy Nance: We’ll touch on the rest of the bullpen in a moment, but credit to the one player in the pen that has actually exceeded expectations, and that's Tommy Nance. He’s been used most of the season as the low-leverage, first man out of the bullpen type guy, but the numbers have been there. On the season, it's been a 0.86 ERA with more strikeouts (24) than innings pitched (21), and this week, 4.1 IP allowing four baserunners. Striking out five more and, more importantly, not allowing a run to score. He really shone with he came into the game on Sunday to relieve.

Brendon Little: With the bases loaded and just one out, he proceeded to get a strikeout and a groundball to escape the inning and keep the Blue Jays' one-run lead at the time. Nance has proven that he deserves some more high-leverage work going forward.

Kevin Gausman: This is a shoutout to the best starting pitching performance of the week, and that belonged to Kevin Gausman. In total, he went seven innings, allowing just four hits, and only one of them for extra bases. Walking none and striking out eight. He went toe to toe with Quinn Priester, who was also dominant, so Gausman had to be on his game. It continues an excellent stretch of games for Gausman, who has a 3.11 ERA since the start of July. His next start will come at Yankee Stadium against the Yankees, a team that is right on the Blue Jays' heels in the AL Wild Card race. 

Lowlights
Jeff Hoffman: This was not a good week for Jeff Hoffman, After he blew a save last week in Miami, he got into action on Tuesday to protect a one run lead, two pitches in he gave up a game tying home run, and then gave up another one a few batters later, after getting the save on Wednesday he came into a tie game on Saturday and the home run ball bit him again, two more long balls allowed and another earned run on a double. It's been a season of ups and downs for Hoffman, and he’s now allowed an MLB-high 14 home runs, tied for the most in baseball by a reliever this season. His season number now stands at 5.11 and has been a net negative WAR player on the season. (-0.3). He did get in the finale on Sunday, and although he did allow some baserunners, he did not allow a run. We’ll see how John Schneider and the rest of the Blue Jays staff manage Hoffman going forward.

Louis Varland: This spot could have gone to many other relievers in the Jays' bullpen, as Brendon Little, Yariel Rodriguez, and Hoffman have all had pockets of poor performance lately, but we’ll use this time to highlight Varland. He had a stretch dating back to August 15th, where he allowed an earned run in six straight appearances. His first two appearances this week, that trend continued, a walk and a hit in his three batters faced against the Twins, and two more hits and another run against the Brewers in the opener on Friday. Since joining the Blue Jays, he’s pitched to a 6.97 ERA. That was not the pitcher the Blue Jays had hoped to get when they acquired him at the deadline. The saving grace may be his outing on Sunday, where he faced five batters, set them all down, and struck out three of them. Hopefully, this is the outing that gets him back on track.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr: Don’t look now, but this week was not a good week for Vlad at the plate; he went just 2-23, both singles, with just two walks. Coming into Sunday, out of all qualified hitters, only Alex Bregman had a lower wOBA than Vlad’s .072 this week. It's worth noting that Vlad had been dealing with a Hamstring issue that kept him out of the lineup for a few days over the previous weekend. He may still be dealing with that injury, but the Blue Jays are going to need Vlad to step up at the plate if they’re going to remain in the lead for the AL East crown going into September.

Random Notes of the Week:

• Blue Jays fans ate 96,633 dollar dogs on Tuesday, a new record
   
• Chris Bassitt recorded his 500th career strikeout as a Blue Jay this week.
   
• Ernie Clement received the 2025 Heart and Hustle Award this week.
   
• The Blue Jays have signed 28-year-old DH/OF Eloy Jimenez to a minor league contract. He was most recently in the Rays' minor league system.
   
• The Blue Jays have signed LHP Ryan Borucki to a minor league deal after being released by the Pirates last week. He’s pitched to a 4.47 ERA over his five seasons in Toronto.
   
• Former Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston was named to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum’s Hall of Game this week.
   
• Myles Straw robbed Jackson Chourio of a homerun this week, the first time he’s done that in his big league career (Via Julia Kreuz).
   
• Brendon Little didn’t throw a single Knuckle Curve in his appearance on Sunday.
   
• Shane Bieber struck out the side in the first inning of his home debut on Friday night.
   
• Bo Bichette’s 14-game hit streak came to an end on Sunday

News, Notes and Not Playing

• C Alejandro Kirk had an X-ray on his left hand after taking a foul ball. Results were negative (Via Arden Zwelling)
   
• INF Ernie Clement had a CT scan on his left hand that revealed a small hairline fracture; he also received 10 stitches in his shin. He’s day to day (Via Zwelling)
   
• SP Max Scherzer was taken out of his start with upper back tightness (Via Mitch Bannon). Scherzer said post-game that he felt it before the start, and that he doesn't think it's going to be a long-term thing (Via Hazel Mae)
   
• OF Daulton Varsho was hit in the hand with a pitch this week. X-rays came back negative, and he is considered day-to-day for now. (Via Keegan Matheson)
   
• LHP Justin Bruhil was recalled earlier this week, and RHP Paxton Schultz was sent down to Triple A.
   
• The Blue Jays have claimed INF Isiah Kiner-Falefa off waivers from the Pirates. Kiner-Falefa spent the first half of 2024 with the Blue Jays. He’s hitting .264/.300/.332 with 1 HR and 15 SB on the season. Yimi Garcia was sent to the 60-day IL in response

15-day IL: Yimi García, Nick Sandlin,

• Yimi García is going to have elbow surgery and is done for the year. Expectations are that he’ll be ready to go for Spring Training Next year. (Via Shi Davidi)
  More here
   
• Sandlin had another injection in his elbow on Monday and should resume throwing over the weekend. (Via Hazel Mae)

60-day IL: Anthony Santander, Alek Manoah, Bowden Francis

• OF/DH Anthony Santander did a full slate of baseball activities, including running on the field. If all things go well, he’ll go on a rehab assignment after the road trip to Cincinnati (Via Davidi)
   
• RHP Alek Manoah had his 30-day rehab window extended last week, and is continuing to pitch for the Buffalo Bisons (Via Ben Nicholson-Smith) 

Trending Storylines
The main storyline for the Blue Jays has been the performance of the bullpen, since the all star break, the Bullpen ERA is at 5.72, the worst in the American League, a 4.74 Walk rate, which is also worst in the American League, and a -0.4 fWAR which, you guessed it, is also the worst in the American League. These are the players who are going to have to right the ship down the stretch. There have been some concerning signs. Brendon Littles' Knuckle Curve hasn’t been getting as many swings and misses lately. Jeff Hoffman and Yariel Rodriguez have seen fluctuations in their velocity as of late. The bullpen turning things around, and rather quickly, will be priority number one for this team going forward.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Blue Jays have been doing okay; they were third in wRC+ at 130 this past week, despite having games this week where they scored two runs or less. It hasn’t been all smooth, as previously mentioned, Vladimir Guerrero Jr has had some trouble this week. And Addison Barger hasn’t hit a home run since the Blue Jays were at Dodger Stadium earlier in the month. But Nathan Lukes has had a stretch of multi-hit games, and so has Bo Bichette. It's been a mix of ups and downs, but everything seems status quo for the bats. The health of Ernie Clement and Daulton Varsho can help boost the offence if they are healthy.  

Looking Ahead
Coming off a 3-3 Home stand, the Blue Jays will head on the road again for six more games. The first stop will see the Blue Jays visit Cincinnati, home of the Reds, who are currently out of the playoff picture, but they are 4 games back of the Mets for the third and final wild card spot. They’ve been struggling as of late, as they’re just 2-8 over their last ten games.  The Blue Jays will have their work cut out for them, as they’re set to face Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, and Zack Littell over the series. Bassit, Berrios, and Bieber will get their shot for the Blue Jays.

After an off day on Thursday, the Blue Jays will head to the Bronx to face the Yankees for the final time this regular season, in what could be one of the biggest series of the season so far. The good news is the Jays have played well against the Yankees so far this season, as they are 7-3, including a four-game sweep at Rogers Centre earlier this year. The Yankees have been playing much better as of late, as they were on a seven-game winning streak before the White Sox took the finale on Sunday. They will have three games in Houston before the Blue Jays visit on the weekend. As of now, Gausman, Scherzer, and Bassitt line up for the Blue Jays, and it'll be Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil, and Max Fried for the Yankees.

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