The Toronto Blue Jays’ tumultuous start to the season has been marred by injury, rotation duress and offensive underperformance.

As a result the big bats and depth starters have been under the microscope. And while the offence turned it around Friday night, hitting seven of the team’s 21 doubles this season in a 10-4 rout of the Twins, and pitching reinforcements appear to be on the horizon, where does that leave Toronto’s least-discussed component – the bullpen?

So far, the results have been bad (5.64 ERA, 26th in MLB), the underlying indicators have been OK-to-good (4.33 FIP, 16.6 K-BB%) and the opponent’s luck has been the best in baseball (.363 BABIP). Jeff Hoffman is mowing down batters at a rate unseen this side of Mason Miller, but has blown 2-of-4 save opportunities.

The Blue Jays’ supposed best lefty relief option was quickly, ahem, optioned to the minors and now Joe Mantiply is sneakily looking to recapture his all-star form of four seasons past. Basically, it’s been a mixed bag. Let’s cast an eye on who’s firmly entrenched in the circle of trust, who should be, the fringe guys, and who’s destined for the churn.

On the bullseye: Jeff Hoffman, Tyler Rogers, Louis Varland, Mason Fluharty

As alluded to, Hoffman is blowing away opposing hitters at a remarkable clip. His 15 strikeouts and 48.4% walk rate are both second to only Miller among relievers. Big home runs allowed at the least opportune times to end last season and start this one have besmirched Hoffman’s name, but he also has excelled in pressure-filled moments, striking out the side against the Seattle Mariners to secure the Blue Jays ALCS win, for example. Make no mistake, he’s among the game’s elite.

Rogers, meanwhile, is among the most captivating bullpen arms in baseball. Achieving a top-10 ERA in MLB over the last two seasons and the most lucrative contract given to a Blue Jays reliever while throwing the slowest fastball and scraping the ground while doing it quite the combination of feats.

The 35-year-old submariner’s skill set may be best suited for specific situations, but his 93rd percentile and above barrel rates, hard hit rates, walk rates and ground-ball rates over the last two seasons speak for themselves. Not to mention he leads the majors in relief appearances over the past five seasons. Prepare to see plenty more squibbers on the infield.

Varland’s case is simple. He throws harder than other Blue Jay (98 m.p.h. average, 101 m.p.h. max) and his stuff grades out better than any other Toronto reliever since he joined the team (111 stuff+). The hard-throwing right-hander hasn’t allowed a run yet this season and has struck out nine batters while walking only two. John Schneider said to media that Varland “is quickly becoming one of my favourite players. Not just pitchers but players, just because of his mentality, the kind of dude he is and what he can do,” after the Blue Jays’ win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday.

As the Blue Jays No. 1 lefty relief option, the Blue Jays have no choice but to trust Fluharty. Good thing he’s making it easy for them. He’s continued to limit hard contact while striking out an above-average number of batters resulting in strong peripheral numbers despite his high ERAs – a stat that can often be deceptive for relievers in a large sample, let alone a smaller one.

More, the second-year southpaw has added a changeup that breaks arm side with two feet of separation from his sweeper, giving him a weapon to the other side of the plate. The early returns from the pitch have been promising, albeit on limited usage. Fluharty will continue to face the best pocket of lefties on opposing teams going forward.

Somewhere in between: Braydon Fisher

Fisher sits in a category of his own. Based on how the Blue Jays have deployed him, it appears he’s mostly on the outside of the circle of trust. However, his performance has been among the best on the team.

Four of his six appearances this year have come between the fifth and seventh inning. His lone leverage outing came against Brent Rooker and Tyler Soderstrom in the top of the sixth inning protecting a three-run lead. The three times he’s appeared in the eighth inning or later Toronto either had a significant lead or were losing.

The 25-year-old sophomore led the Blue Jays in strikeout-minus-walk rate last season – one of the best evaluation tools for relievers, as it isolates for factors they solely control – and is second to Hoffman this season. He’s striking out 35.7% of the batters he faces and walking a minuscule 3.6%. And while Varland has the best overall stuff+ on the Blue Jays since he was acquired at last season’s trade deadline, Fisher’s was the best over the course of the full 2025 season. This was fuelled by a massive 131 stuff+ on his slider, which ranks among the best in baseball. He’s also yet to allow an earned run this season while striking out 10 and walking one over 8 2/3 innings.

There are still reasons to be reticent of Fisher, namely that he’s reliant on his breaking balls as his fastball grades out below average. Also, his early success could be due to the team matching him up with easier pockets of opposing lineups. But Fisher did prove his ability to step up in big moments last season.

Nearing the edge: Tommy Nance, Joe Mantiply

Tommy Nance is an interesting case. While his K-BB% has been strong and his stuff grades out well – particularly his outlier curveball – the amount of swing-and-miss he gets has been minimal and has come with hard contact at times. The 35-year-old righty had a 1.99 ERA last season, but a 3.88 expected ERA.

So far this season he’s allowed 11 baserunners and five earned runs over six innings. To be fair, four of those runs came against the heart of the Dodgers’ lineup. Nance certainly has utility in the Blue Jays ‘pen, but currently stands to face lower leverage than the more reliable righties ahead of him.

Mantiply is also interesting. A former all-star in 2022 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the 35-year-old was designated for assignment in May of 2025 after posting a 15.83 ERA over his first 10 appearances. He signed a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays last summer and was solid in triple-A.

Now outside of a single blow up against the Dodgers, he’s struck out seven of the 12 batters he’s faced, including K’ing the side against the Twins on Friday. Considering that he’s done it before and is turning in outstanding results recently, Mantiply’s stock is trending upwards.

Outside looking in: Spencer Miles, Brendon Little

Miles’ big-league debut was a great story, but he’s still a rookie with 5.2 big league innings and only 14.2 in the minors. And the Blue Jays have used him as such. Still his three distinct fastball shapes and high-end velocity could open up the door to greater opportunity.

As far as Brendon Little’s concerned, we don’t need to rehash the whole saga here, but after being optioned to triple-A, he’s clearly outside of the team’s circle of trust. He’s outside the team entirely. Still, if Little starts putting the two new pitches he developed in the offseason to use – an upper-90s four-seamer and a hard slider – a comeback shouldn’t be out of the question.

The lefty struck out 91 batters over 68 1/3 innings last season and was among the best left-handed relievers in baseball over the first half of the season. Of course that was before opposing hitters starting eliminating the curve and either waiting for him to throw four balls before three strikes, or teeing off on mistake sinkers. Still, there’s a strong possibility Little gets more big outs for the Blue Jays this season.