<p>The Toronto Blue Jays have been the most active with their bullpen moves this year. It started with some substractions, with Genesis Cabrera, Dillon Tate, and longtime closer and Canadian product Jordan Romano all being non-tendered or removed from the roster. This depleted an already lacklustre relief corps, so there wasn&#8217;t an option for the Blue Jays to sit on their hands when it came to improving the bullpen.</p>
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<p>Some depth moves were made to start the offseason, such as bringing in Michael Petersen off of waivers (now DFA&#8217;d) and signing some lower-tier free agent arms in Kevin Gowdy, Josh Walker, Eric Lauer, and Eric Pardinho, who re-signed with the Jays after becoming a free agent for the first time in his career. The Jays also acquired Nick Sandlin as part of the Andres Gimenez trade package with the Guardians and the club also<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/the-blue-jays-reportedly-sign-yimi-garcia-to-a-two-year-deal"> signed Yimi Garcia</a> and Jeff Hoffman to multi-year deals, so the group is in better shape now but still could use an arm or two to support Erik Swanson, Chad Green, and Brendon Little down in the relief corps.</p>
<p>Enter Port Hope, Ont. native Cal Quantrill.</p>
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<p>Son of former big leaguer Paul Quantrill, the right-hander is coming off a rough season with the Colorado Rockies, where he posted a 4.98 ERA through 29 starts and 148 1/3 innings pitched. He led the NL in walks (69) and saw his BB/9 elevated to 4.2 while striking out batters at a 6.7 K/9 clip. He finished the year with a 5.32 FIP and a 1.517 WHIP and entered free agency after being non-tendered this winter for the first time in his career. While Coors Field can be a determinantal park for pitchers, Quantrill found split success between his home and road stats, with his WHIP becoming more elevated in the mountains as well as his numbers of walks while he allowed two fewer earned runs during that span.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">2024 PitchingNinja Trash Talking Award. 🏆</p>
<p>Winner: Cal Quantrill <a href="https://t.co/BwBO4Vhlhx">pic.twitter.com/BwBO4Vhlhx</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) <a href="https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1855226369543684140?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>Before being traded to the Rockies, Quantrill had split his time between the San Diego Padres and the Cleveland Guardians, where the Ontario Terriers alum amassed a 3.83 ERA through 132 games, 94 of which were starts. Earlier in his career, the Ontario product split time between the rotation and the bullpen before becoming a mainstay for the Guardians starting in 2022.</p>
<p>Splits-wise, what makes Quantrill an interesting name on the free agent market is his upside for the bullpen, which has seen him post excellent numbers when he is working out of the rotation. Through his 38 appearances as a bullpen arm, the soon-to-be 30-year-old owns a 1.91 ERA through 61 1/3 innings. Working as a multi-inning relief arm, Quantrill has allowed just 13 earned runs and has compiled a 4-1 record while also seeing improved numbers with his command, walking just 22 batters. He&#8217;s also held opponents to a .233/.316/.323 slash line when working out of the pen and has collected 53 strikeouts in the process, an uptick from his comparable numbers in the rotation.</p>
<p>With his ability to start games and the numbers to back up his ability as a relief arm, Quantrill seems to be the perfect addition for a team looking for some more depth on the roster, especially in a swingman capacity (Ross Stripling 2.0). The rotation seems pretty set with the addition of Max Scherzer and the likely subsequent move of Yariel Rodriguez to the bullpen but Quantrill is just another potential piece of the puzzle that could get a crack at making the Opening Day roster &#8211; that&#8217;s if he is willing to take on a different role. He could hold out like Michael Soroka did and sign with the Washington Nationals, who are giving him a chance to work for a spot in the rotation, although Soroka flashed some better numbers out of the White Sox bullpen after his return from the IL. Quantrill has the benefit of a healthy season in his back pocket, making 20+ starts for the third time in four seasons, but the pitching market still has quite a few veteran names left on the board with Spring Training just a few weeks away.</p>
<p>A potential &#8216;prove-it&#8217; style one-year deal may be the best bet for Quantrill, who could look to boost his stock with a solid year of working out the bullpen with a start or two mixed in between. The Jays could find some room for the right-hander, although it becomes a bit of a tighter squeeze with Rodriguez now in the relief corps, but a one-year deal isn&#8217;t going to break the bank and taking a gamble on a versatile arm that satisfies the Canadian narrative seems like a win-win situation on a few fronts.</p>
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The Toronto Blue Jays have been the most active with their bullpen moves this year. It started with some substractions, with Genesis Cabrera, Dillon Tate, and longtime closer and Canadian product Jordan Romano all being non-tendered or removed from the roster. This depleted an already lacklustre relief corps, so there wasn't an option for the Blue Jays to sit on their hands when it came to improving the bullpen.



Some depth moves were made to start the offseason, such as bringing in Michael Petersen off of waivers (now DFA'd) and signing some lower-tier free agent arms in Kevin Gowdy, Josh Walker, Eric Lauer, and Eric Pardinho, who re-signed with the Jays after becoming a free agent for the first time in his career. The Jays also acquired Nick Sandlin as part of the Andres Gimenez trade package with the Guardians and the club also<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/the-blue-jays-reportedly-sign-yimi-garcia-to-a-two-year-deal"> signed Yimi Garcia</a> and Jeff Hoffman to multi-year deals, so the group is in better shape now but still could use an arm or two to support Erik Swanson, Chad Green, and Brendon Little down in the relief corps.

Enter Port Hope, Ont. native Cal Quantrill.
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Son of former big leaguer Paul Quantrill, the right-hander is coming off a rough season with the Colorado Rockies, where he posted a 4.98 ERA through 29 starts and 148 1/3 innings pitched. He led the NL in walks (69) and saw his BB/9 elevated to 4.2 while striking out batters at a 6.7 K/9 clip. He finished the year with a 5.32 FIP and a 1.517 WHIP and entered free agency after being non-tendered this winter for the first time in his career. While Coors Field can be a determinantal park for pitchers, Quantrill found split success between his home and road stats, with his WHIP becoming more elevated in the mountains as well as his numbers of walks while he allowed two fewer earned runs during that span.

https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1855226369543684140

Before being traded to the Rockies, Quantrill had split his time between the San Diego Padres and the Cleveland Guardians, where the Ontario Terriers alum amassed a 3.83 ERA through 132 games, 94 of which were starts. Earlier in his career, the Ontario product split time between the rotation and the bullpen before becoming a mainstay for the Guardians starting in 2022.

Splits-wise, what makes Quantrill an interesting name on the free agent market is his upside for the bullpen, which has seen him post excellent numbers when he is working out of the rotation. Through his 38 appearances as a bullpen arm, the soon-to-be 30-year-old owns a 1.91 ERA through 61 1/3 innings. Working as a multi-inning relief arm, Quantrill has allowed just 13 earned runs and has compiled a 4-1 record while also seeing improved numbers with his command, walking just 22 batters. He's also held opponents to a .233/.316/.323 slash line when working out of the pen and has collected 53 strikeouts in the process, an uptick from his comparable numbers in the rotation.

With his ability to start games and the numbers to back up his ability as a relief arm, Quantrill seems to be the perfect addition for a team looking for some more depth on the roster, especially in a swingman capacity (Ross Stripling 2.0). The rotation seems pretty set with the addition of Max Scherzer and the likely subsequent move of Yariel Rodriguez to the bullpen but Quantrill is just another potential piece of the puzzle that could get a crack at making the Opening Day roster - that's if he is willing to take on a different role. He could hold out like Michael Soroka did and sign with the Washington Nationals, who are giving him a chance to work for a spot in the rotation, although Soroka flashed some better numbers out of the White Sox bullpen after his return from the IL. Quantrill has the benefit of a healthy season in his back pocket, making 20+ starts for the third time in four seasons, but the pitching market still has quite a few veteran names left on the board with Spring Training just a few weeks away.

A potential 'prove-it' style one-year deal may be the best bet for Quantrill, who could look to boost his stock with a solid year of working out the bullpen with a start or two mixed in between. The Jays could find some room for the right-hander, although it becomes a bit of a tighter squeeze with Rodriguez now in the relief corps, but a one-year deal isn't going to break the bank and taking a gamble on a versatile arm that satisfies the Canadian narrative seems like a win-win situation on a few fronts.

<hr />

<strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong>
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Cal Quantrill presents a low-risk option for the Blue Jays to have another depth arm in the bullpen

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