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MLB Hot Stove: Toronto Blue Jays Preview

By Darrell Samuels

Oct 21, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Roberto Osuna (54) reacts after the victory against the Kansas City Royals in game five of the ALCS at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 21, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Roberto Osuna (54) reacts after the victory against the Kansas City Royals in game five of the ALCS at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports /
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Pitching

Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports /

At the start of opening day last year, against the New York Yankees in the Bronx, the rotation consisted of Drew Hutchison, R.A. Dickey, Daniel Norris, Mark Buehrle and Aaron Sanchez. Norris was later dealt for David Price and Sanchez was moved back to the bullpen into a setup role position for rookie Roberto Osuna to close the door on victories for the Blue Jays.

Drew Hutchison, opening day starter from a year ago, started off very successfully but as the season wore on his statistics started to slide significantly. He finished the 2015 season with a record of 13-5 and an ERA of 5.57 before being demoted to Triple A Buffalo Bisons in the middle of August.

At the age of 41, the ageless wonder knuckle-baller R.A. Dickey is slated to return for another season in Toronto after accepting a $12 million option for the new season. It’s hard to say what to expect out of an older Dickey. However, there has been proof that a knuckle-baller can pitch well into their 40’s and be successful as former Boston Red Sox knuckle-baller Tim Wakefield did recently.

The jury is still out on what the future holds for Mark Buehrle, as during the season ending weekend series against the Tampa Bay Rays, there were suggestions that Buehrle might retire at the conclusion of Toronto’s playoffs. Nobody envisioned Toronto to do as well as they did in the playoffs. There are some speculating that Buehrle might return to play for another season but with his hometown team the St. Louis Cardinals.

The biggest weakness in the bullpen was left-handed specialist Aaron Loup. At times it drove Blue Jays fans crazy when manager John Gibbons consistently threw Loup into contests. He pitched 60 games last year and had a record of 2-5, blowing four saves and finishing with a very high 4.46 ERA.

Toronto could use an improvement within their bullpen with a veteran arm to close out games. The team stumbled across rookie right-hander Roberto Osuna, age 20, to be their closer last season but, as good as he was, he did sometimes show signs that he could not always handle the big responsibility.

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