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Long relief options for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2025

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Spring training is a perfect opportunity to snuff out needs and options for the Toronto Blue Jays. In the context of the pitching category, many new names have been added to the mix – Max Scherzer, Jeff Hoffman, Nick Sandlin – all new arms who have now been added to the fold. The bullpen has gotten a gigantic makeover from 2024, which among MLB teams, was 29th overall in terms of ERA. 

With the new additions for the team, however, comes opportunity. With Hoffman, Yimi García and Chad Green likely serving as the late inning trio for the Blue Jays, a lot of other opportunities are still up for grabs. It’s likely Sandlin, Erik Swanson, and Brandon Little all have spots on the roster, which leaves room for about one to two more arms for the pen.

Long relief arms are crucial, especially given the age of the rotation being around mid 30s, having a guy to come in and toss a couple innings is crucial.  Here are a couple of names the team can look to fill that void:

Yariel Rodríguez

Rodríguezwas initially brought into the organization to be a starting pitcher – it was one of the reasons he chose the Blue Jays over any other team last winter – and was thrust into the starting rotation given the Jays’ low amount of depth options to start games (and once he was healthy). Across 21 games and 86 2/3 innings last season, Rodriguez posted a 4.47 ERA, 85 strikeouts, and authored a 1.31 WHIP with an 8.8 K/9. He struggled with the walks at times, evidenced by his 4.2 BB/9, but his first foray in Major League Baseball had both positives and negatives on the season. 

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For a guy who’s only primarily found more success in the bullpen as of late over the rotation (his 2022 numbers with the Chunichi Dragons are insane), his longevity in the starting market hasn’t been gigantic. Rodríguez is only 27 years old and the plan for the organization is to stretch him out in the spring as a starter but keep him stashed away in the pen to go a couple of innings if need be.

After not pitching for most of 2023 as he awaited clearance to become MLB free agent eligible, his longest outing last season was on Canada Day last year, where he went 6 2/3 innings allowing just 1 run and 2 hits to the Houston Astros. The maximum pitches he’s thrown per a game is about 80 pitches, so if needed, he for sure can step up in a long relief capacity – especially since he cannot be optioned to the minors without his approval starting this season. 

Ryan Yarbrough

The fact it took this long for any team to sign Ryan Yarbrough was actually kind of shocking. After a pretty stellar 12 games with the Blue Jays post trade deadline last season, he signed a minor league deal with the club on February 21st with an invite to Spring Training. 

This was a steal given how Yarbrough was an effective arm for the team in the back half of the season, posting a 2.01 ERA with 26 strikeouts and only 7 walks during that stretch. Yarbrough fit the mold of long relief last year, after the team went with the opener strategy at points of the campaign, using names like Ryan Burr to start games and taking over the heavy lifting after the first inning. 

Yarbrough has the benefit also of being a former starter, for an American League East team no less in the Tampa Bay Rays. Granted, he was split between starting and pitching out of the bullpen for the Rays throughout the season, but it still shows how the versatility is there. Yarbrough only gave up three runs once last season and was terrific to go three or more innings if the Blue Jays needed him to. Given how this team has an open spot for a left-handed pitcher in the bullpen to complement Little, having a player like Yarbrough on a minor league salary is a huge bonus for a team looking to contend. 

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Eric Lauer

This signing went under the radar for Blue Jays fans as the deal happened during the infamous Juan Soto watch. It was a signing that many did not bat an eyelash at, and at the time we can understand why. Now that time has passed, many wonder what exactly Eric Lauer brings to the table?

Aside from starting depth, he is coming off a rough campaign in Milwaukee two years ago where he put up an ERA of 6.56 across 10 games in 2023. After starting another rough stretch in triple-A with both the Astros and Pirates, he ended up going overseas to the KBO. Across seven games he put up an ERA of 4.93, which again is not a gigantic improvement from the 6+ ERA he had before, but it does show he was improving with the right circumstances.  In 2021 & 2022, Lauer found success with the Brewers where he tallied up ERAs of 3.19 across 24 appearances (20 of those starts) and a 3.69 ERA across 29 starts respectively. 

Bringing in arms with major league experience on minor league deals is something this organization knows all too well. Given what they accomplished with other pitchers such as Robbie Ray (Cy Young), Steven Matz and most recently Yusei Kikuchi, this team likes to create reclamation projects. 

Is Lauer someone who can jump up the Blue Jays depth charts and eat innings for them? Maybe, he’s no stranger to work out of the bullpen and in the rotation. The key here is consistency and what we see out of him in the spring can be a huge catalyst for that, although the Jays may opt to keep him in triple-A as starting depth given the amount of injuries to the team’s rotation arms in the minor leagues.