The Blue Jays' Bullpen's Success Comes at a Much-Needed Time

[Bryan Jaeger]

The Toronto Blue Jays have been in a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde situation this season. Half of the bullpen has been outstanding; that's the good side, a.k.a. Dr. Jekyll. The other half has been atrocious; that's the dark side, a.k.a. Mr. Hyde. Below are the relievers channeling their evil Mr. Hyde alter ego:

Player	Innings	ERA	Roster Status
Brendon Little	3 2/3	24.55	Optioned to Triple A
Josh Fleming	3	12.00	DFA'd and re-signed. In Triple A
Jeff Hoffman	10 2/3	7.59 (through April 21)	Moved to a setup role
Eric Lauer	36	6.69	DFA'd and traded
Yariel Rodríguez	4 1/3	10.38	Added to the 26-man roster on May 11
Chase Lee	3 1/3	8.10	Added to the 26-man roster on May 19
Mason Fluharty	18 2/3	4.82	Made the Opening Day roster

Since being removed from the official closer role, Hoffman has reduced his ERA to 5.09. This success is due to pitching nine shutout outings in his last 13. Even in the four games in which he surrendered a run, it was only one. He also earned two saves last week, his first in over a month. He struck out five of the six batters he faced in those two outings.

The first save came the day after Louis Varland pitched two days in a row, and the second save came the day after Varland threw two innings. So Hoffman hasn't fully gotten back in the good graces of manager John Schneider, but it's a start. 

Thankfully, it's not all doom and gloom. There is a good side to the bullpen: the Dr. Jekylls. Varland has been stellar all season, and since taking over the ninth inning, he has converted all five of his save opportunities. Here are the other relievers who are sporting their Dr. Jekyll alter egos:

Player	Innings	ERA	Roster Status
Louis Varland	27 2/3	0.65	Took over the closer role
Tyler Rogers	23 1/3	1.54	Made the Opening Day roster
Braydon Fisher	29 2/3	2.73	Made the Opening Day roster
Tommy Nance	21	3.86	Made the Opening Day roster. On IL since May 16
Joe Mantiply	17 2/3	2.04	Added to the 26-man roster on April 5. On IL since May 17
Spencer Miles	29	2.17	Made the Opening Day roster
Austin Voth	2 2/3	3.38	DFA'd and re-signed. In Triple A
Adam Macko	3 1/3	0.00	Added to the 26-man roster on May 17

Tommy Nance (May 17) and Joe Mantiply (May 19) have joined the long list of pitchers on the injury list. However, the bullpen's success has been much-needed, as the relievers have had to fill a rotation spot due to the plethora of starting pitcher injuries. José Berríos, Max Scherzer, Shane Bieber, Bowden Francis, and Cody Ponce have been on the injured list for most of the year. These were all players who could have played key roles this season. 

Ponce is out for the season after suffering an ACL injury in his first outing this season, and Scherzer made five starts before going on the injured list with forearm tendinitis and ankle inflammation. Berríos, Bieber, and Francis have all been out since the start of the season. Bieber started a rehab assignment on May 24. The Blue Jays will ease the righty back into form, and his return may come in late June. Berríos and Francis will both miss the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. 

The good news is that Toronto's first two bullpen games (with Miles filling a bulk relief role) went well. The Jays held the Detroit Tigers to seven hits and one run on May 16, striking out 14. Then they limited the New York Yankees to three hits in a shutout on May 21, striking out another 14.

Yet, it seems that when things are going well, something bad comes along. The latest bad news is that Dylan Cease is now on the injured list after suffering a hamstring injury on May 24. Schneider has already been playing chess with all his moving pieces, and now the Blue Jays are once again trying to figure out how to fill an empty rotation spot. 

The team could let Miles properly join the rotation, given his recent success. He threw eight scoreless innings between the bullpen games on May 16 and 21. Then they could turn the other available rotation spot into a bullpen game. The Blue Jays would need to find someone who can go three or four innings since Miles would be unavailable, and that's likely Rodríguez. This injury crisis has been one of the worst situations that I can remember. Let's see how the Blue Jays adjust. 

Stats updated prior to games on May 25.

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