The Toronto Blue Jays have posted solid bullpen stats (ranked top ten in MLB ERA) this season, despite several injuries. One of which, Nick Sandlin, found himself back on the IL ahead of the All-Star Game after missing significant time earlier in the season as well with a right lat strain.

This time, he’s battling right elbow inflammation. Despite him not playing much due to his injuries, his absence will mark a noticeable blow to the bullpen. In his limited 16 1/3 innings that he has pitched this year, he’s thrown to a solid 2.20 ERA while striking out over 20% of the hitters he’s faced.

It’s not just his injury that’s the problem, though. He joins a list of fellow relievers who are also out of action that includes Yimi Garcia, Ryan Burr, and Paxton Schultz.

Injuries have plagued the team’s bullpen all season. Before Erik Swanson was released, he was also on the IL for a stretch to begin the year. In the modern era of baseball, it’s not uncommon for teams to cycle through tons of bullpen arms, but the Jays appear to be going at an unsustainable rate.

On top of the names above, the list of players who have seen action for the Jays out of the pen is a long one. Tommy Nance, Justin Bruihl, Lazaro Estrada, Robinson Pina, and Mason Fluharty have all made at least one appearance. Concerningly, the list can go on too.

Simply put, the team only has so many options. At the rate they’re going, there’s a slim, but still very real possibility that they run out of MLB-calibre arms to call up with the amount of options that each player has. Injuries can be unavoidable at times, but it feels as if the Jays have run themselves into this mess. They rank fifth in the league for the number of multi-inning appearances by their relievers, with 107. For reference, only nine teams are above 100 so far, with the Detroit Tigers leading the pack with 125.

Not all of the pitchers listed have partaken in a long, multi-inning outing, but a great example is Estrada, who had to go four innings in his pro debut:

For another example, of Schultz’s 12 appearances, he only pitched one inning in four of them. Even pitchers who aren’t going long, like Estrada or Schultz, are making frequent one-inning outings. Lefty Brendon Little has eaten 44 1/3 innings this season already, almost halfway to the most he’s ever pitched in a season back in 2018 in the minor leagues, when he threw 101 1/3 as an A-Ball starting pitcher (21 starts).

Looking at the same metric in a different way, an individual Blue Jays reliever has been forced to record more than three outs on 88 different occasions, well above the league average to this point of 72. Longer starts from the team’s starting rotation would certainly help, but as they’ve been plagued with injury as well (Max Scherzer, Bowden Francis, and Alek Manoah at different parts of the season), the team is having to make do with some long bullpen games.

Acquiring an arm then seems like it should be a top priority come the fast-approaching trade deadline, so the Jays will have to take a look at what pieces they’d be willing to part with to make room. There’s more that needs to be taken into consideration, though. One addition won’t fix the existing injury problem.

Shorter outings by the team’s relievers would likely work wonders for some of the wear-and-tear injuries that have popped up throughout the year, but a part of that also revolves around the staff’s preparation for games and off-time maintenance. A change to the players’ programs, whether big or small, could make all the difference.

Keep an eye on the team’s bullpen usage in the second half, and which hurlers are seeing more use. Finding a way around this lingering injury problem could be the difference between playoff success and disappointment.