Adding relievers a good start
The Blue Jays are finally starting to cross some items off their to-do list, from their top priorities to other areas of concern.
Hours before coming to terms with centre-fielder George Springer, the Jays filled out their bullpen with the additions of closer Kirby Yates and right-hander Tyler Chatwood. Both deals are pending physicals and have yet to be announced.
Centre field, third base and the starting rotation were the biggest areas of need so the order of events might seem a little off, but at some point, the bullpen had to be addressed. Ken Giles, who will miss the upcoming season following Tommy John surgery, and setup man Anthony Bass are both free agents. The Jays found their replacements within 24 hours of each other.
Yates isn’t a household name, but he probably should be. The 33-year-old was one of the top relievers in MLB in 2018 and 2019. He posted a 1.19 ERA while striking out 101 batters across 602⁄3 innings for the Padres in 2019, and he led the NL with 41 saves. He had an injury-plagued 2020 that ended with surgery to remove bone chips from his right elbow. TSN’s Scott Mitchell was the first to report a deal with Yates was imminent.
Chatwood’s deal is for $3 million (U.S.), plus incentives. The 31-year-old is expected to move to the bullpen after a rocky abbreviated season as a Cubs starter. Chatwood, whose fastball sits about 96 m.p.h., made 33 relief appearances in 2019 while posting a respectable 3.67 ERA. Missing bats is his biggest strength, poor command the biggest weakness.
With the deals for Yates and Chatwood all but officially done, the Blue Jays bullpen takes shape.
Yates will start the year as closer with Rafael Dolis and Jordan Romano the primary setup men. Julian Merryweather and Chatwood offer high-velocity options in middle relief while Ryan Borucki likely sticks around as the lone lefty. A.J. Cole also figures to make the big-league club for the second consecutive year after recently signing a non-guaranteed deal.
That leaves one spot for a swingman/long reliever. Shun Yamaguchi is the obvious choice, but assuming the Jays add another starting pitcher, his job would have to go to Ross Stripling. What that means for Yamaguchi and his $3.175-million salary remains unclear, but either he or starter Tanner Roark probably would become the odd man out.
This group of eight doesn’t figure to rank among the best in MLB, but on paper it looks strong — a relief corps that possesses velocity and upside at a reasonable cost. Dolis will earn just $1.5 million this year, Romano, Merryweather and Borucki are still on pre-arbitration deals. Yates figures to become the highest earner but shouldn’t require a long-term commitment.
This seems to be the prudent way for an emerging team to build its bullpen. Relievers are notoriously volatile and it’s hard to predict their performance from one year to the next, especially with injuries. The Jays were among the finalists for free agent Liam Hendriks, but it would have been a huge gamble to guarantee $54 million when that cash could be used to shore up other areas.
Finding reclamation projects for the bullpen has been one of general manager Ross Atkins’ fortes. Last year, he added Dolis and Bass for almost nothing. In 2019, it was Daniel Hudson and David Phelps. Other seasons saw guys like Joe Smith, John Axford and Seunghwan Oh sign on. For a team that hasn’t been very active in free agency since Atkins’ arrival in 2015, finding cheap relievers hasn’t been an issue.
That’s why passing on Hendriks made sense, even if it led to yet another report about the front office being unable to finalize deals. The terms of Yates’ deal still aren’t known, but the dollars won’t approach what Hendriks is set to earn with the White Sox.
Tuesday wasn’t the big day Jays fans had been waiting for, but it did end a roster freeze that had been going on for two and a half months. Prior to this week, the Jays had not reached an agreement on a big-league deal since Robbie Ray in early November. Lots of talk, no action, until now.
Bigger moves will have to be in store. At least one plus bat is required, but two would look even better, one for the outfield and one for the infield. There’s just as much of a need to add another front-line starter.
The bullpen is usually one of the last things teams focus on. The Jays ended up addressing it first. While that might seem unusual, it doesn’t matter if the bigger holes eventually get plugged.