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Mapping out the Toronto Blue Jays’ Opening Day bullpen

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After one of the worst bullpen seasons in franchise history, the Toronto Blue Jays are looking to turn the page. Not just turn the page, but rip it out, burn it, bury it and never let it be spoken of again.

Things could not get much worse than they were in 2024, which means 2025 should be a fresh start. As with any bullpen, positions have been fluid through Grapefruit League for the Blue Jays, with some guys having jobs locked down from day one, while a few other minor league and major league signings changed the makeup of this relief corps.

With six games left in spring training, there are still a few spots in Toronto’s bullpen up for grabs, but let’s map out how the Blue Jays bullpen might look come opening day on March 27.

The locks: Jeff Hoffman (closer), Yimi García (setup man), Chad Green (sixth/seventh inning), Yariel Rodríguez (middle relief), Nick Sandlin (lefty specialist/middle relief), Erik Swanson (middle relief)*

Barring any setbacks, the back end of the Blue Jays’ bullpen is set for Opening Day. It’s just a matter of where John Schneider will slot these guys into leverage situations once the regular season starts.

Jeff Hoffman will close games, followed by Yimi García as setup man and Chad Green slotted into the seventh inning role. Keep in mind that García was electric in the setup role for the Blue Jays last year just before his injury and then being traded to the Mariners. Green was also at his best with the Blue Jays in late 2023 when he worked predominantly in the sixth and seventh innings, so taking him out of high-leverage situations and save opportunities should have Green working better within realistic parameters.

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Yariel Rodríguez will likely bounce between the bullpen and starting rotation throughout the season, but he makes the most sense in a relief role. However, Rodríguez’s pitch mix hasn’t changed much from last year, so we’ll have to wait to see if he pares down his repertoire out of the bullpen to start 2025. He also can’t be sent down to the minors without his permission, so he fits in the lock category. There’s also Nick Sandlin, whose splitter is a sneaky weapon against left-handed hitters and could become a matchup specialist down in the Blue Jays bullpen this season.

There is an asterisk beside Swanson due to his elbow injury. While the diagnosis is not more severe, Swanson is behind the rest of the group when it comes to being ready for Opening Day. The right-hander will likely spend most of the season in the Major Leagues when healthy but he also could begin the year in the minors if he isn’t ready to go come late March, making way for another pitcher to bridge the gap.

On paper, the top end of Toronto’s bullpen is miles ahead of what they trotted out last year. The additions of Hoffman and Garcia have elevated their relief corps up to the 20th projected bullpen this season, a marked improvement from the worst bullpen in MLB by fWAR last year.

The spring training darlings: Brendon Little (middle relief), Zach Pop (middle relief), Ryan Yarbrough (multi-inning mop-up guy)

Spring training is a time of opportunity, and with the Blue Jays seeing a few injuries to some other relievers, the window of opportunity has swung open for relievers like Brendon Little, Zach Pop, and Ryan Yarbrough.

Little was one of the few bright spots from last year’s tire fire of a bullpen and he’s looked solid in spring in Grapefruit League action thus far. He seems like the go-to option for the Blue Jays from the left-handed side. Yarbrough also had a strong second half with the Blue Jays last year and will likely take over that multi-inning mop-up relief role for the team this season with the added benefit he too is a southpaw.

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Pop might’ve been on the bubble if not for Erik Swanson’s injury, but Pop should coast into a relief role to start the season with the Blue Jays in place of the splitter specalist. With no options remaining, he’ll have to stick with the team or risk being exposed to waivers.

The dark horses candidates: Dillon Tate, Richard Lovelady, Josh Walker, Tommy Nance

The previous eight names seem like they have the advantage for the Opening Day bullpen (give or take with Swanson and his elbow) but with a handful of games left to go, there still is an outside chance that somebody else suffers an injury or some sort of freak occurrence happens before next Thursday.

The Blue Jays signed Dillon Tate to a major league deal last week, but Shi Davidi from Sportsnet reports it’s on a split contract, so he can be optioned this season, but he’s guaranteed to make $1.4 million whether he pitches a game in the majors this year. Because he signed late, Tate still hasn’t pitched in spring training, so he’ll be ticketed for triple-A, but will likely be one of the first relievers to be called up when needed.

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He who has one of the best names in the organization, Richard Lovelady, has not quite romanced the Blue Jays enough to bring him up to the big leagues. But eight strikeouts and only one walk over his six spring training appearances thus far have put him on the radar for big-league action this season.

And it’s another longshot, but former Mets reliever Josh Walker has been decent through five appearances in spring training. Walks are the issue for Walker, which is why he only saw limited action with the Mets in 2023 and 2024, but again, another depth piece to keep in mind as the marathon of the regular season soon kicks off.

Blue Jays fans might be familiar with Tommy Nance, who finished games in all six appearances he made for the Blue Jays last season. He’s been knocked around a bit in his Grapefruit league work this year and he’s out of options. You’d hate to see a player make the team solely for that fact and not based on merit, but that could be the one factor that might elevate Nance into an Opening Day bullpen role.