All week, we’ll be looking at the 2016 Toronto Blue Jays, from the mound to the lineup. After beginning our trip around the diamond with the starting rotation, we now turn our attention to the bullpen.
To say the Kansas City Royals won the World Series because of their bullpen would be a disservice to everyone else on the club that contributed, but the relievers certainly deserve a chunk of the credit.
Kansas City cultivated a back end that shortened games and made it damn near impossible for teams to come back against them, running out a collection of power arms in the final third of the game that gave up few hits and even fewer runs while hurling non-stop smoke. Toronto’s inability to do the same in the American League Championship Series was part of the reason they fell to the Royals and one of the areas new general manager Ross Atkins addressed in the offseason.
Here’s a look at how the bullpen should line up in 2016.
Drew Storen (2015: 2-2, 29 SV, 3.44)
Acquired in a trade that sent Ben Revere to the Washington Nationals, Storen is a former closer who was displaced last season, but should return to the role in Toronto this year, as he’s more effective and comfortable as the ninth inning guy than in any other position in the bullpen hierarchy.
Storen struggled in the final two months of last season, but a lot of it looks attributable to being pissed off with losing his gig to Jonathan Papelbon for no good reason.
After going 6-6 and not allowing a run in July, Storen got bumped in favour of the trade deadline acquisition and his numbers jumped. If he’s back getting the ball for the final three outs, there is no reason to think he won’t return to the form that saw him go 29 of 31 in save opportunities over the first four months of the season.
Roberto Osuna (2015: 1-6, 20 SV, 2.58)
Osuna surprised everyone by making the team out of Spring Training, than really impressed by taking over closing duties and running with the job all season. He was a godsend for the Blue Jays and moving him into the eighth inning role gives the team greater flexibility with the future starter.
Could he close? Absolutely. Will there be games where Storen isn’t available and Osuna gets the call? You know it. Does the title of closer matter? Probably not to the 21-year-old sophomore, which is why you have him give up the gig to the new guy and find another role for Osuna. He’ll be as effective as last year and you can manage his usage a little better with him out of the role, so it should be a win all around.
Brett Cecil (2015: 5-5, 5 SV, 2.48)
Losing Cecil in the playoffs really hurt the Jays, as the lefty is an essential piece of the what the club does in the late innings and close games. He’s a perfect utility arm in the ‘pen – a guy that can wrap things up late if needed, be a situational arm that gets one tough lefty in a close game or a bridge to Osuna and Storen that handles the 7th repeatedly.
The key to Cecil’s effectiveness is having another solid lefty or two available as well because he can’t be the only southpaw dealing; he needs days off and has to be limited to the last couple innings or else the whole order of things gets out of whack.
Aaron Loup (2015: 2-5, 4.46)
Which is why a bounce-back season from Loup is essential, although the trends aren’t moving in the right direction to suggest one is coming.
Loup was good and reliable his first two seasons, but his effectiveness has waned as his usage has increased. He was unavailable and then ineffective in the postseason last year, so a good Spring and strong start will be imperative to Loup remaining the second lefty in the mix for the Jays going forward. If he can regain his form and be consistent, Loup allows the Jays to hit the ‘pen early and play the “Mix & Match” game in the final three and change of close, winnable games.
Gavin Floyd (2015: 0-0, 2.70 with Cleveland)
The 33-year-old Floyd missed most of last season before popping in for seven innings on the shores of Lake Erie, which were effective enough to earn him a look with the Jays this Spring. A former starter, Floyd could be in the running for the fifth spot in the rotation or become the swing man a la early 2015 Marco Estrada.
It’s been a minute since Floyd has been effective and healthy throughout an entire season; he hasn’t made double-digit appearances since starting 29 games with the White Sox in 2012. That said, if he’s healthy and ready to go, he could be a solid veteran reclamation project out of the bullpen and the kind of long man every team hates to use, but has to have heading into the season.
Pat Venditte (2015: 2-2, 4.40 with Oakland)
Switch hitters are common in baseball, but switch pitchers?
Venditte can be a righty or a lefty, depending on the situation, though he’s infinitely more effective against lefties. How much more? The 30-year-old 0.64 WHIP and .106 BAA with 18 strikeouts in 14 innings against lefties, compared to a 1.70 WHIP and .293 BAA facing righties.
Making him a permanent lefty might be the best course of action, especially if Loup struggles.
