Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

In a move that will make many Blue Jays fans very happy, Darren Oliver has agreed to return to the organization for 2013 at the agreed upon contract option of $3M.

It was just a few weeks ago that Darren Oliver, aka “Black Magic” (that is both a serious nickname and the best nickname ever) was contemplating retirement if he did not either receive a pay raise from the Blue Jays, or if he could not play closer to home in Texas by playing for the Rangers organization via trade. Luckily, Alex Anthopoulos called his bluff and went on looking for relief help through free agency. Earlier in the week, Jon Heyman tweeted that the Blue Jays were looking to acquire the likes of Francisco Rodriguez, Matt Lindstrom, Matt Capps, Jose Valverde, Kyle Farnsworth or Brandon Lyon to fill the bullpen help needed. About a week ago it appeared the Blue Jays would not be able to get Darren Oliver back to fix their bothersome bullpen, and just an hour prior to this news our own Kyle Franzoni had written a piece praising what Lyon could bring to the Jays, so this news is a pleasant surprise for most of us.

Just how great was bringing back Darren Oliver was to the Blue Jays? Over the past 5 seasons he has averaged an ERA of 2.52, with each successive year’s ERA lower than the previous year, resulting in a career low 2.06 ERA with the team. His 0.48 HR/9 was beaten only by Aaron Loup on the club last year, who miraculously did not give up a single home run over 30.2 innings. He left 84.9% of baserunners on base last year, and had a very modest 2.38 BB/9 innings. There are concerns with his age, as he will be entering his 20th (and likely final) season in the majors, however with a 1.1 fWAR last year and coming back for a $3M contract, it is likely that he will yield a great return for what his value is worth.

What does this mean for the rest of the bullpen? With Darren Oliver set to be a late inning shutdown guy, the guaranteed jobs left belong to Casey Janssen and Sergio Santos as setup/closer (still pending),  Steve Delabar, and finally Brett Cecil as lefty specialist (seeing as he is out of options). The Blue Jays now must decide if they want a 7 or 8 man bullpen, with Aaron Loup, J.A. Happ, Esmil Rogers, Brad Lincoln and Jeremy Jeffress remaining. Likely Happ will start the 2013 season starting in Buffalo, as he has an option left. If Gibbons decided to go with 7 relievers, it’ll mean that Loup would likely be optioned to Buffalo, with either Rogers or Jeffress staying with the club and the other is put on waivers. If he goes with 8 relievers, Aaron Loup might remain with the club. Update: After a conference call with reporters, it appears that Alex Anthopoulos has decided to stretch Lincoln out during Spring Training, in hopes of making him the team’s 7th starter. If he doesn’t make the bullpen after Spring Training, he will be optioned down to Buffalo to start, alongside Happ. It’s an interesting move that could effectively help swing who won the Snider/Lincoln trade further along the road.

With only 27 days until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, the long wait for baseball is nearing its end. Darren Oliver’s return to the Blue Jays may be the only worthwhile news until mid February, but hopefully the 2013 season will make the wait worthwhile.

September 30, 2012; Toronto, ON, CANADA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Darren Oliver (38) throws against the New York Yankees in the eighth inning at the Rogers Centre. New York defeated Toronto 9-6. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-US PRESSWIRE

Jamie Moyer enjoyed his best years from the age of 32 to he turned 40, and then seemingly made a deal to find the magic one more time at 45.

R.A. Dickey, the man without a ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow, has gone from journeyman to staff ace after finding the knuckeball and the fountain of youth in New York, becoming a staff ace at the age of 35 and a first-time all-star at 37.

Toronto Blue Jays reliever Darren Oliver is another one of those guys. While not as highly decorated as the aforementioned fellas, Oliver is nonetheless a marvel to behold.

At 33-years-old, officially washed up as a starter, playing for Florida and Houston, and failing to impress with either. He would spend the entire 2005 season in the minor leagues both Arizona and Chicago’s systems trying to make it back as a starter, but to no avail.

However, Oliver found a way to resurrect his career in 2006, making the full-time transition to the bullpen with the Mets. At 35-years-old, the move paid off, as Oliver has used his rubber arm to become a stabilizing force out of the bullpen as a middle reliever in both inning-eating situations and high-pressure moments.

Now in his 19th season, Oliver has enjoyed his best season to date, registering a 3-4 record with a 2.10 ERA and 52 strike-outs in 61 appearances for the Blue Jays. With Toronto’s penchant for injuries, Oliver has been one of the only consistent and productive presences on the team in 2012.

However, all good things must eventually come to an end, and Oliver has managed to drag this out as long as he could. That said, it is understandable that the talk of his retirement is picking up steam. For his part, Oliver is not hinting toward any direction.

“I’m not thinking about it right now,” Oliver said. “I’ll worry about that when the season’s over, when I’m at home, relaxing.”

The Blue Jays do hold a $3 million team option for 2013, and given his performance this past season, there is no reason that they would not pick up the option. The true test comes when Oliver is home with his family, weighing if he has one more year left in him.

“I would never play this game and be away from them and take that away from them,” Oliver said. “Every kid needs a father at home. That’s important to me. I think it should be important to a lot of people. Baseball’s second. Family’s first. I’ve always said that.”

And that’s the way it should be. Still, the Blue Jays will be more than happy to leave a light on for Darren Oliver, at least for one more season.

Darren Oliver has been worth every penny for the Blue Jays this season. (Tom Szczerbowski-US PRESSWIRE)

Through 31 appearances this season, Oliver has allowed just 18 hits and compiled a tidy 1.65 ERA/2.80 FIP in 27 1/3 innings. He’s on pace to trim his ERA for the sixth consecutive season, and his 0.915 WHIP and team-best 5.9 hits per nine innings are both career lows. His 30 strikeouts are good for a 9.9 K/9 which, if he manages to sustain that strikeout rate over the second half of the season, would be a new full-season career high.

So what has contributed to Oliver posting career-best numbers in his 18th major league season?

Pitchers are told to pound the zone early in at-bats to get ahead in the count, and relievers get paid to throw strikes. Oliver has done that better in his first season with the Blue Jays than any other in his career, as according to FanGraphs, he’s throwing first-pitch strikes a whopping 69.5% of the time — his highest mark since 2008 when he was with the Angels and easily a new career high. Among relievers that have thrown at least 20 innings, Oliver’s first-pitch strike rate ranks second-highest in the American League and fourth-highest in baseball.

Since missing all of the 2005 season and returning to the majors as a full-time reliever in 2006, Oliver has always pitched better at home in his five-plus seasons out of the bullpen and, for the most part, pitched better against left-handed hitters. This season with the Blue Jays, however, things are reversed.

While Oliver has limited left-handed hitters to a respectable .229 average and .643 OPS, right-handers have managed merely seven hits against the southpaw all season for a .149 average and .422 OPS. Oliver’s slider against right-handed hitters has been particularly intriguing this season, as he does not use it often, but it’s effective when used. Just ask Torii Hunter about it after whiffing on two of them last night.

Even though he hasn’t allowed an extra-base hit at home this season, Oliver has better stats on the road, where the bulk of his workload has come. While he’s limited opposing hitters to a .243 average and .577 OPS in 10 innings at home this season, he’s held the opposition to a .155 average and .503 OPS in 17 1/3 innings on the road. Prior to his outing last night against the Angels at Rogers Centre, Oliver had thrown almost twice as many innings on the road than he had at home.

Despite adding four relievers over the off-season in an effort to address their bullpen woes, the Blue Jays have the second-worst bullpen in the American League this season, thanks largely in part to the struggles of their starting rotation struggles and an injury to closer Sergio Santos.

Oliver has been one of the few bright spots on the Blue Jays’ pitching staff and, like a fine wine, has gotten better with age over the years. Surely Anthopoulos & Co. — as well as the other 29 teams around baseball — have taken notice of the 41-year-old’s dependability this season, and it seems likely that the organization will exercise his $3 million club option for the 2013 campaign as a result.

- JM

Not far off from our prediction, Oliver will earn $4 million in 2012 with a $3 million club option for the 2013 campaign. Though it wasn’t mentioned in the bluejays.com article, the 2013 option comes with a $500,000 buyout according to Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors.

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According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, two major league sources have told him that left-handed relief pitcher Darren Oliver is close to signing a deal with the Blue Jays. In terms of relievers, Oliver has been as dependable as they come.

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The departures of Rzepczynski, Trever Miller, David Purcey, Brian Tallet, and Wil Ledezma this season have left Luis Perez as the Jays’ only left-handed relief option going forward.

I’ll have a few trade candidates in an upcoming post, but here’s a look at a few left-handed relievers that could be options for the Jays via free agency.

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