Toronto Blue Jays starters had a collective ERA of 3.32 (5th in MLB) headed into Monday night’s action versus the Giants. The bullpen’s efforts thus far have been scrutinized somewhat, with a group ERA of 3.87 (17th).
It’s easy to point out which of the two factions is the weaker link right now inside Toronto’s pitching staff. If it weren’t for the crafty work of Roberto Osuna as the closer, things would be a lot uglier than they are right now. The 21-year-old star in the making has a 1.93 ERA at the moment and has saved six games in seven opportunities. As well, he has a sparkling K:BB ratio right now of 5.3 to go with 16 strikeouts in 14 innings of work.
Outside of that, there has been a lot of instability with two familiar faces. Drew Storen was brought over in an offseason trade that sent Ben Revere to the Nats. He and southpaw Brett Cecil were supposed to be the best options manager John Gibbons has in the seventh and eighth inning of ball games. In spring ball, Gibbons was even considering naming Storen the closer at one point in time. Right now, when you add those two’s earned run averages together, the result is 14.59, with an 0-7 record to boot.
This doesn’t paint a pretty picture for baseball’s defending AL East champions. The lineup for the most part is doing their part and so is the rotation. But handing over close leads to the pen in the latter half of ball games has been disastrous. Toronto is 3-7 right now in one run games.
Here are some reasonable and far-fetched-but-not-to-be-entirely-ruled-out ways to fix the bullpen.
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