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The Toronto Blue Jays head into 2025 with a bullpen prepared for the rain delays and doubleheaders
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Photo credit: © Jordan Godfree - USA Today
Trevor Fitzpatrick
Feb 26, 2025, 11:00 ESTUpdated: Feb 26, 2025, 06:50 EST
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Rain delays can be a manager’s worst nightmare. In the case of Spring Training, the game can be cancelled like the Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers matchup was on Monday and there is no need to reschedule the game – mostly because there are no records or playoffs on the line. During the regular season, things are much more difficult.
Long periods of rain can force pitchers out of games, or even worse, force a doubleheader in short order. Even though Monday’s game was cancelled, it raises the question – how well will the Blue Jays pitching corps be able to plow through a similar situation during the season?\
Even though the team’s starting pitching depth may not be the best, recent changes to the bullpen suggest that they should be able to power through.
Ryan Yarbrough, who pitched solid long relief innings for the Jays in the second half of 2024 was brought back on a minor league deal for 2025 and provides some additional long-man depth for this team should he make the Opening Day roster. Right-hander Yariel Rodríguez seems to be slated for a similar role as Yarbrough this year, working out of the bullpen while potentially making a spot start or two, although it should be noted that he is being built up as a starter this Spring. With the two combined, eating innings should become a cinch.
Each player having their roles better defined entering the season is sure to help too. Last year, Bowden Francis was bouncing back and forth between the rotation, the bullpen, and the minors (while also missing some time on the IL) and Rodríguez was under load management due to his back and having limited playing time the year before while he awaited MLB free agency clearance.
Should Francis be locked into the rotation and Rodríguez heads to the bullpen, the pitching crew won’t have to be worried about swapping roles at the last minute due to a rain cancellation. The slack can be picked up if needed.
If the combination of Yarbrough and Rodriguez can handle seven or more innings by themselves, that relieves a lot of pressure off of the bullpen on the day. Game two of the doubleheader might almost feel like a normal game with everyone else available to pitch and the bonus of an additional spot on the roster to compensate for the added game. 
Of course, that’s all under ideal conditions. Sometimes pitchers get shelled, and sometimes injuries happen. That’s where the 27th roster spot for doubleheaders comes into play. Often, that spot is used for an extra pitcher. An extra left-hander may make the most sense for the Jays for matchup purposes as the majority of their high-leverage relievers are right-handed although depending on the situation, they might call up a bulk inning arm regardless of their handedness. 
Pitchers such as Easton Lucas, Josh Walker, Amir Garrett, or Eric Lauer could provide support as left-handed taxi squad players if needed although there are some 40-man roster implications at the moment. Right-handed wise, Ryan Burr and Zach Pop are quick names to call upon. 
The Jays bullpen appears to be in a better spot than it was in 2024, at least in its ability to eat innings. That ability is a great one to have, not just for when the original schedule gets disrupted, but for any time that a starter has a bad outing and someone needs to stop the bleeding. 
While some shuffling of the bullpen can always be expected throughout the regular season, the Jays appear to have put themselves in a great spot depth-wise to cover all of the innings they need.

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