Three Left-Handed Relivers the Blue Jays Should Look To Sign

The Winter Meetings came and went, all without the Blue Jays making any major moves. This wasn't a cause for panic, though, as the team has already reshaped its pitching staff, signing Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million contract, followed by giving a three-year, $30 million contract to Cody Ponce. With Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer likely departing, those additions were essential.

Toronto still has some work to do in the bullpen. Collectively, Jays relievers posted a 3.98 ERA in 2025 (16th in MLB), and the team has identified the 'pen as a need that will have to be addressed this winter. They have already made some small transactions this offseason; Seranthony Doínguez was granted free agency, Nick Sandlin and Yariel Rodríguez were outrighted to the minors, with Sandlin electing free agency, and they recently acquired right-hander Spencer Miles in the Rule 5 draft from the Giants. He must remain on the active roster all season, or else he will be offered back to San Francisco.

This leaves the Blue Jays' bullpen in an interesting spot. As things currently stand, Jeff Hoffman is still the closer, Yimi García will be making his return from his elbow injury, and after some speculation about stretching out Louis Varland to take on a starting role, GM Ross Atkins confirmed that he will remain in the bullpen going into 2026.

It seems like the Blue Jays have six starters for five spots, and one of those arms will likely have to move to the bullpen, unless there are injuries or the club unexpectedly goes to a six-man rotation. That creates competition for only a handful of relief roles among Braydon Fisher, Brendon Little, Tommy Nance, Mason Fluharty, Eric Lauer, Miles, Justin Bruihl, Rodriguez, Paxton Schultz, and Rule 5 draft holdover Angel Bastardo, who will have to be on the active roster for 90 days, or he will be offered back to the Red Sox.

The Blue Jays certainly aren't just content with the group they have, though. Over the past couple of weeks, the top free agent relievers Edwin Díaz, Devin Williams, Ryan Helsley, and Robert Suarez all found new homes, and while the Blue Jays had various amounts of interest in these players, none of them ended up in Toronto.

The team is certainly not done, and there will be more additions along the way, whether in the form of Pete Fairbanks, Brad Keller, or maybe a trade. But if there is one area of need that may require reinforcement, it's the left side of the bullpen.

Right now, the top three left-handed arms in Toronto's projected bullpen are Little, Lauer, and Fluharty, and while all three had various levels of success in 2025, it didn't end that way. Little went from being one of the best relievers in baseball in the first half of the season to being almost unplayable in the postseason, and while Lauer and Fluharty had bright spots in 2025, neither of them is an established high-leverage arm.

Managing a bullpen is always key to getting through baseball games, and being able to bring in a left-handed pitcher to get out a tough pocket of lefties is always important. John Schneider knows this well, as the Blue Jays are certainly going to face a slew of elite left-handed hitters over the course of a long season, and a pitcher who can be relied on to shut them down is a piece that Schneider would love to have.

With that being said, here are three names the Blue Jays should consider adding this offseason to be their left-handed specialist out of the bullpen.

1) Drew Pomeranz - 46.1 IP, 1.94 ERA, 27.9 K%, 6.8 BB% (as a reliever)
Before last season, Pomeranz hadn't seen big league time since 2021 with the Padres. He resurfaced in 2025 and was a key part of the Cubs' bullpen. Now, at 37 years old, he could be a useful piece in any bullpen, especially when you consider left-handers hit just .176 with just two extra-base hits off him all season.

2) Sean Newcomb - 70.0 IP, 2.19 ERA, 22.4 K%, 7.0 BB% (as a reliever)
Newcomb, now 36, began the year in the Red Sox organization and made five starts for the team before a trade at the end of May sent him to the Athletics. From there, he pitched out of the bullpen and was extremely effective, posting a 1.75 ERA in 51.1 innings for the A’s. Lefties had a .283 wOBA against him last season, and with the potential for him to start some games, he would be an intriguing option for rotation depth should it come down to that.

3) Tim Mayza - 16.2 IP, 3.78 ERA, 20.3 K%, 6.8 BB%
Yes, seriously, that Tim Mayza. His Blue Jays tenure didn’t end according to plan. After spending parts of seven seasons with the Blue Jays, he was let go in 2024 after he had an 8.03 ERA through 24.2 innings that season. But he did look like he was back to being a big league reliever in 2025. He’s still effective at getting left-handers out (.228 wOBA against LHH vs. .373 against RHH), and the fastball velocity has taken a tick up, to 95 mph. He may never again be the guy who posted a 1.52 ERA and 2.1 bWAR for the Jays in 2023, but he’s not done as a major league reliever and could be had on a minor league deal. Not only would it make for a great storyline, but he could be effective if put in the right position.