Blue Jays bullpen has 6 relievers that you should pay attention to

The Toronto Blue Jays have quietly and sneakily built one of the top bullpens in all of major league baseball. Since the 2021 season when they barely missed out on the playoffs (due to their bullpen blowing an absurd amount of games), they have added several pieces that have completely transformed this unit. 

Although they may lack some of the big-time names and reputations of the other elite bullpens, they more than make up for that in depth. On top of that, the way in which Blue Jays management uses their relievers allows for them all to play a whole bunch of different roles.

For example, on any given night you could see one of their conventional setup men go try and get two outs in the sixth inning. And, on the other end, you may see their traditional two-inning man come in during the eighth and try to keep the game close. This strategy and unpredictability make for a high-value bullpen and very difficult for opposing managers to plan against.

Sure, some of these guys are better and more used than others, but I believe all these pitchers are worth taking a deeper look at as a baseball fan. Barring injuries of course, all six of these players will pitch 40/50+ innings and gain stats that prove they are valuable bullpen pieces.

All statistics used in this article were taken from fangraphs.com

6. Jordan Romano

This one is the obvious one. Jordan Romano has solidified himself as a top closer in baseball and will yield a majority of the save opportunities for the Blue Jays this season. Since the shortened 2020 season, Romano has consistently been elite, having a sub 1.10 WHIP and over 11 K/9 since then (not to mention the fact that his fastball consistently touches 98 MPH).

How well does Romano rank compared to other elite MLB closers? In 2023, he was tied for fifth in saves with 36 and tied for third in save percentage with a rate of 90%. Over the past two seasons together, he ranks second in saves with 72 and 20th in ERA (2.49) amongst all qualified relievers.

5. Erik Swanson

Erik Swanson is obviously next in line after Romano. Sure, he was better in 2022 on Seattle, posting a 1.68 ERA in 53.2 innings, but he was still nothing short of excellent in 2023 with the Jays. Swanson strikes out many batters regardless of where in the lineup he is facing and was given six save opportunities and more opportunities for holds than anyone else in this bullpen.

Many fans are skeptical of Swanson and how large his impact on this bullpen actually is, as the front office had to give up two-time silver slugger winner Teoscar Hernandez for him. Some may say that the suffering the offense has endured is not worth Swanson's impact on the other side of the ball, but I disagree -- just give him another year to help prove my case.