Last year, the Toronto Blue Jays bullpen started as a potential area of strength after an impressive 2023 season and numerous returning faces but fell into despair that saw the Jays use 28 different pitchers in relief capacity – three of which were roster players called into late duty action (shoutout Tyler Heineman and his sparkling 0.00 ERA through one inning).

It was an area that fell high on the list of things that needed to be improved this winter and the front office made even more reductions before starting to get to work. They gave Genesis Cabrera his walking papers, with the southpaw signing with the New York Mets shortly after, while the club eventually non-tendered Dillon Tate and Markham, Ont. product Jordan Romano. The former Jays closer found a new home in the NL East with the Phillies on a one-year pact. The club also lost Hagen Danner to the Seattle Mariners when he was DFA’d in mid-December, and the right-hander was a depth piece the Jays could have leaned on in 2025 if needed.

So far this offseason, the Jays bullpen has seen the most improvement compared to the rest of the roster in terms of roster additions. The club has added some depth arms on minor league deals or waiver claims like Michael Petersen, Kevin Gowdy, Eric Lauer, Josh Walker, and Bobby Milacki and brought back Eric Pardinho as a free agent signing this winter. The Blue Jays will also have a Rule 5 player on the roster in Angel Bastardo, who will start the year on the IL and potentially be in the roster picture towards the back half of the campaign as he recovers from Tommy John surgery (and has to be on the 40-man given the Rule 5 aspects).

On the 40-man roster side, the Blue Jays added right-hander Nick Sandlin from the Guardians (as part of the Gimenez deal), signed former Blue Jays hurler Yimi Garcia to a two-year pact, and brought back former top prospect Jeff Hoffman, who has transitioned from a starter to a late-inning reliever over the past few seasons. While Hoffman has the pedigree to potentially work as a starter, it appears that the Jays are positioning him to be the closer for this relief group, which makes sense given his 2023 and 2024 seasons seeing him excel in a similar role in terms of late-inning, high-pressure situations.

Sandlin, Garcia, and Hoffman are considered on the ‘lock’ side when it comes to the Blue Jays bullpen picture in 2025 and they would slot in alongside Erik Swanson, Chad Green, and Brendon Little, who seems to be the go-to southpaw option in this current relief corps group. Considering the Jays will walk up to the docks with five pitchers in their rotation barring a substantial shift in mentality to a six-man rotation, the Jays will carry eight relievers heading into the new year. Given the current ‘locks’ mentioned above, that would leave two spots open in the bullpen come Spring Training.

One of those spots is likely going to be occupied by Yariel Rodriguez, who seems destined for the bullpen after making 21 starts for the Blue Jays last year but appearing in just 86 2/3 innings as he continued to get some innings under his belt after not pitching much the year before. He has the added wrinkle in his deal where he can’t be optioned to the minors without his approval starting this season, so if he doesn’t crack the rotation, he has to go to the bullpen versus going to triple-A to continue getting stretched out as a starter (unless he approves it). This idea is contingent on Bowden Francis and another pitcher locking down the rotation, whether that be Jake Bloss or an outside addition. There is a chance Rodriguez starts the campaign in the rotation, especially if the Jays do not add another starter and with Alek Manoah and Ricky Tiedemann both on the IL to start the year, but the hot stove has the Jays tied to a few different starters so far this winter and the club would benefit from adding a veteran arm into the mix.

With the idea that Rodriguez occupies spot #7, that would leave just one remaining spot for a bunch of arms looking to make the breakthrough to the big leagues. The list is extensive, largely in part due to the front office bringing in so many arms at the tail end of the 2024 season to find the ‘diamond in the rough’ and also because the Jays have a few pitchers looking to make the jump to the big leagues as well.

The pitchers in the mix for the last spot include (* denotes not on 40-man roster):

There are a few names here that have an edge over others and injuries will always open opportunities throughout the year but this is the group heading into the spring with something to prove and potentially gain. That being said, there is also a chance that some of those on the 40-man roster won’t make it to Spring Training if the Jays sign some more free agents, with Brett de Gues finding out the hard way this past weekend.

If I were a betting man, I would say Burr, Eisert, Lucas, Nance, Petersen, Pop, and Robertson sit higher on the depth charts, with Burr being the leading candidate for the spot if the Jays don’t add another established reliever this winter.

The Colorado product posted a 4.13 ERA with the Blue Jays last season through 34 outings and also made four impromptu starts for the club when called upon. He posted a 1.26 WHIP and a 12.95 K/9 on the year, which are solid marks for a middle relief-type arm, although he did have his down moments where opponents timed him up well. It also doesn’t help that he throws from the right side, something the Jays have quite a bit of currently, but there is an argument to be made to take the best arms that deserve to be there, regardless of what side they throw from. If anybody is going to challenge Burr for the spot, I would think Robertson and Pop are the main competitors in the mix.

Should the Jays wish to take another southpaw to the bullpen, then Eisert, Lauer, Lucas, and Walker are all there with Mason Fluharty waiting in the depths as well. Eisert struggled in limited big-league action last year while Lauer has the most experience of the group, appearing in 120 games (112 starts) through 596 2/3 innings and returns to the Major Leagues after spending last year split between triple-A and in the KBO, where he posted a 4.93 ERA through seven starts.

The Jays could keep him as starting depth down in triple-A given his background but considering how Eisert and Lucas did not fair well with Toronto last winter, it wouldn’t be surprising if Toronto keeps Lauer around as a reliever over a starter. Josh Walker is also a name in the mix for the southpaws but his track record in the big leagues is spotty at best although the sample size is limited to just 22 1/3 innings. If the Jays want an effective lefty out of the bullpen, they may best be suited to find it outside of the organization.

If the club cares about keeping any of these players around for the long haul, then Pop and Tommy Nance will stick out from the group as both players are out of minor league options in 2025. Either they make the roster or they must be designated for assignment.

This might play more in Pop’s favour, who made 90 appearances for the Jays since 2022 but has floated between the big leagues and triple-A as he struggled to carve out a role in the bullpen despite having a high 90s fastball with strong movement. He and the Blue Jays also avoided arbitration this past winter, settling at $900K, but that isn’t a large enough sum to keep him around if he struggles over the next couple of months. Pop wasn’t non-tendered which means the Jays have some confidence in his abilities to crack the Opening Day roster but that’s not without some steady competition to keep him on his toes.

Nance had his moments for the Jays last season as well, so it will be interesting to see how the club handles those two players heading into the new year.

Ultimately, the correct answer to solve the ‘who should occupy the last bullpen spot’ riddle is acquiring an outside arm with some experience to help create a more rounded bullpen.

This seems easier said than done given the Jays have bigger fish to fry this winter (*cough a power bat cough*) but if Ross Atkins and co. feels confident with the current group, there are a few arms the team could turn to next year to fill out that last spot if needed. This would lead to a pretty intense competition come springtime, which is not necessarily a bad thing at the end of the day, but there are a few players that stand out amongst the group compared to the rest and again, some might not even be around if the front office continues to add this winter – whether that is via trade, free agency, or straight up DFA’s.

If I were a betting man, I would put a lot of chips on Ryan Burr to lock down the last spot but I also wouldn’t be surprised if the Jays try and find a way to bring another left-hander into the mix, whether that’s via outside the organization or someone who shines in the spring.