Blue Jays Agree to Trade for RP Jason Grilli
By Bill Pivetz
The Blue Jays agree to a trade with the Braves to bolster their bullpen by adding veteran Jason Grilli. How does this affect their current relief pitchers?
The Toronto Blue Jays entered the season with one of the better bullpens in the league, just like the rest of the American League East. The team decided to go with Roberto Osuna as the closer with newly acquired Drew Storen as the set-up man. Toronto is in line to add one more piece to the bullpen by trading for veteran relief pitcher Jason Grilli.
Grilli has been a reliable relief pitcher for many teams since 2000. His most successful season came in 2013 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He posted a 2.70 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 13.3 K/9 and 33 saves.
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He joined the Atlanta Braves last season and, after the team traded Craig Kimbrel, recorded 24 saves with a 2.94 ERA and 1.13 WHIP before an Achilles injury shortened his season. This season has been a bit of a struggle. In 21 games, he has a 5.29 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, 12.2 K/9, 6.9 BB/9 and two saves.
The Blue Jays bullpen has been iffy this season. Osuna has been amazing with a 1.17 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 11 saves. Storen has a 6.75 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and three saves. He only has four walks, but the 25 hits (four home runs) are not doing him any favors.
Gavin Floyd and Jesse Chavez both have an ERA over 3.50, so the addition of Jason Grilli is welcomed.
Jason Grilli trade not approved yet, but sounds like it's close
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) May 31, 2016
While the move isn’t official yet, there doesn’t seem like there is anything that would hold it up. Toronto is likely sending prospect Sean Ratcliffe to the Braves. Atlanta is in a rebuilding process, obvious by the Shelby Miller trade, so adding another young arm makes sense.
Back to Jason Grilli and Toronto, though. Grilli has a career-low 18.6 ground ball rate and career-high 58.1 fly ball rate, numbers that do not favor him as he goes to the homer-friendly Rogers Centre. But, in a limited role, Grilli is a good hand to have in a league where reliable relief pitchers are hard to come by.
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For Osuna owners, I wouldn’t worry about him losing his job, even if he struggles. While he does have closer experience, I could see Storen getting the first shot before anyone else at the role.
In deeper or AL-only leagues, Jason Grilli is a speculative add. If you have a flex spot on your roster, why not pick him up? He is owned in just 4.6 percent of ESPN leagues. He has improved recently, posting a 1.69 ERA and 1.13 WHIP, so this is the buy-low time for Grilli.