Relief in sight for beleaguered Blue Jay bullpen
On the morning of April 1 in Montreal, right-hander Ryan Tepera sat quietly at his Olympic Stadium locker prior to the Blue Jays’ final spring exhibition not knowing if he would be headed to Baltimore for opening day or travelling to Buffalo to start the season with the Triple-A Bisons.
My, how things have changed for the 29-year-old Texan. Tepera is now one of four pitchers manager John Gibbons trusts in a setup role for closer Roberto Osuna.
The Jays had been quickly returning to health with key pitchers before left-hander Francisco Liriano walked off the mound on Saturday accompanied by trainers in the third inning. The early diagnosis was neck tightness. It is unknown whether he’ll have to miss a start or even be placed on the disabled list.
Righty Joe Biagini had taken a month and a half off from the relief duties at which he excelled in 2016 to join the rotation as a replacement for Aaron Sanchez, who is now healthy. Biagini is a possibility to start again.
Meanwhile, veteran right-hander Joe Smith (right shoulder) has one more scheduled rehab assignment at Buffalo before being activated in Boston.
At a pre-game session in his Comerica Park office, Gibbons spoke enthusiastically about the return of Smith and suggested there was no hurry to rush Biagini back into the same high-leverage role he had handled before becoming a starter. Why? It is due to the emergence of Tepera and righty Danny Barnes. In support of Osuna there are now four pitchers Gibbons feels he can rely upon.
“It’s been a goal of mine this season coming into the season, and I felt like I’ve earned his trust up to this point,” Tepera said. “Barnes the same way, and with a couple of injuries that we have, with Smitty, it’s been fun to kind of step up and be the guys. It’s just a sense of security almost.
“It’s been kind of a crazy year. At spring training I didn’t know. It was up to the last day and I found out. Coming into spring training that was my ultimate goal, to make the team. To accomplish that and then to do what I did in the first half, other than a couple of bad outings here and there, I felt like I earned that trust.”
Jays pitching coach Pete Walker is impressed with the emergence of Tepera and Barnes. It may not seem like there is room for four in the seventh and eighth, before handing the ball to Osuna. Does Walker feel it’s a little crowded?
“Obviously it’s nice to have roles in an ideal, perfect bullpen, but right now we have four guys,” Walker said. “This group as a whole has been great. Biagini we saw last year and what he did late in the game, so there are certainly some options. It’s nice to be able to pitch, whether it’s one or two of those guys on one night and know you can technically give him a day off. It’s a luxury when Smith gets back.”
Walker further believes that as the Jays’ second half unfolds, with Sanchez showing signs of returning to last year’s form, any rebound by the underachieving, oft-injured fiveman rotation will make the bullpen even better.
“The starters, the way it’s gone with injuries, the way we’ve pitched at times, it’s been inconsistent and that leads to a bullpen that’s been taxed,” Walker analyzed. “Last year when our starters were getting into that seventh inning almost on a regular basis, all of a sudden instead of needing four outs from a reliever (like we have needed this year), you can get one or two outs and then move to the next guy. Starting pitching has to get deep into ball games. It puts the bullpen back into a good rhythm and that’s usually when we, or any team, start rolling.”
The Jays bullpen has had a handful of games in which they have been pummelled, but overall, heading into Saturday, ranked second in the AL in wins with an 18-12 record, was tied for second with 25 saves, second to the Orioles with 317 innings and second with 352 strikeouts. With starting pitchers going deeper and more relievers that Gibbons believes in, the roles and matchups can be more precise. The Jays may even be able to add an extra position player.
“With Biagini and Smitty coming back, our bullpen just gets deeper,” Tepera said prior to the Liriano exit. “You can lean on every guy in that ’pen. Gibby trusts more guys. That helps out a lot with everybody . . . and you feel fresh in September.”
The Jays entered Saturday’s game with six relief pitchers between 33 and 40 appearances: Aaron Loup (40), Tepera (39), Osuna (37), Smith (34), Dominic Leone (34) and Barnes (33). The AL leader was Detroit’s Shane Greene with 44.
If Biagini is indeed asked to fill in for Liriano in the rotation, there is still enough talent at the back end of the bullpen. But if Liriano is out for any length of time it does change the likelihood of GM Ross Atkins trading one of his starters.