Top 10 Blue Jays Relievers of All Time

In compiling this top 10, I began with trying to define what makes a player worthy of being considered “top.” For me, that’s a blend of longevity, raw skill, context of the performance, result of the performance and value of the performance to the team. In an effort to be as objective as possible, I used 6 statistics to help quantify those components.

One way of doing a top 10 in baseball is to simply rank the players by WAR. The problem is since WAR is a counting stat, a good player who was around for long time would beat out an exceptional player who was around for less time. For example, Vernon Wells has more WAR with the Blue Jays than does Roberto Alomar but who would rank Vernon Wells higher than Roberto Alomar as a Jay? The other problem is that WAR doesn’t always tell the whole story. Joe Carter is 30th in WAR among Jays position players all time, behind the likes of Eric Hinske, Damaso Garcia and Roy Howell. I don’t think anyone would describe him as less great of a Jay than those three. 

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I did use WAR as one of the statistics but I adjusted it for innings pitched to get a better idea of how valuable a player was in the time they were with the Jays. Its a little hybrid stat that I like to call WARIP (WARPA being the position player equivalent). Simply divide a player’s WAR by the number of innings they pitched and then multiply it by 100 to get a manageable figure. For example Roger Clemens and David Wells have a nearly identical WAR with the Jays of 19.2 and 19.1 respectively. Apply the WARIP formula and you get 1.66 for Wells and 3.85 for Clemens. Clemens was 2.3 times more valuable than Wells if they had both played the same amount of time with the Jays. You could just eyeball WAR and how long they played with the Jays but this way is just more specific and exact.

I do believe that longevity is one indictor of how great a player was but not nearly to the extent that a raw WAR ranking would suggest. So instead I used WARIP and added a point for every 500 innings pitched with the Jays.

Only a reliever’s performance with the Jays is considered. How they fared in the rest of their careers elsewhere is ignored. Many relievers on this list also started for the Jays and so a relief appearance only split was used for all statistics. A minimum 100 IP for the Jays was the cutoff for inclusion in the top 10 (sorry Victor Cruz!).

The rankings the system produced both challenged and confirmed my expectations. Some relievers were right where I thought they’d be ranked and others were surprising inclusions or exclusions. Anyways, enough preamble. Let’s begin with number 10:

10. Scott Downs

Credit: Shaw/Getty

Scott Downs was drafted and signed by the Cubs in 1997. His path to become a consistent major leaguer was not an easy one. He was traded to the Twins in 1998 and then reacquired by the Cubs in 1999. He made his debut in 2000 but again was traded later that season to Montreal. He missed all of 2001 to injury and struggled in the minors the 2002/2003 seasons. 2004, at age 28, saw him split time between the Expos and the minors. After being released, Downs signed as a free agent with the Blue Jays. It was Toronto where Downs’ career really got going. Up until Toronto, Downs had only been a starter but the Jays gave him a look as a reliever in 2005. After some experimentation, Downs was fully transitioned to a reliever and made his last career start in 2006.

In total he spent 6 years in Toronto and appeared in 329 games. He was mainly used in a 7th or 8th inning role but was occasionally called in to serve as closer. He had a 2.59 ERA, 3.58 FIP, 7.54 K/9, 3.09 BB/9, a 0.67 HR/9 and a gmLi of 1.37 in his Toronto career as a reliever. Downs was a groundball pitcher who mainly threw a 90 MPH sinker with a curve (sometimes a slider too). As a lefty, he did fare better against left handed batters but was far from a LOOGY—he faced nearly twice as many righties as lefties in his career.

He ranks 8th in WAR among all Blue Jays relievers, 8th in HR/9, 1st in LOB %, 2nd in ERA, 12th in FIP.

Downs, at 39 years of age, is still active. However he is currently a free agent and hasn’t pitched since last September.

9. Dale Murray

Photo Credit: GCRL on Blogspot

In 1970, Dale Murray was drafted by the Expos in the 18th round. He made his debut with the Expos in 1974 and by that time was already a full time reliever. Curiously, he did make one career MLB start—4 years into his career. He played for Montreal, Cincinnati, and the New York Mets before joining the Jays at age 31 in 1981. Unlike Downs, Dale Murray was an established reliever when he came to the Blue Jays. However, Murray had a down year in 1980 and the Jays were able to sign him as a minor league free agent.

Murray was called up late 1981 and threw 15 excellent innings. The next year he was heavily relied upon and put together one of the best single season performances by a Jays reliever. He pitched 111 innings with a 3.16 ERA, 2.93 FIP for a 2.6 WAR. The Jays capitalized on his value at the perfect time and dealt him to the Yankees where his career soon ended. That trade yielded a talented, young prospect named Fred McGriff.

It’s somewhat baffling to explain how Murray achieved the results he did. His WHIP was always high and his strikeouts always quite low. Without the aid of hit trajectory stats or pitch F/x from that era its difficult to say but it’s safe to assume that he often generated weak contact. Regardless, somehow he got the job done.

He appeared in the least games of anyone on this list with only 67 and pitched 126.1 innings which just passed the low end cutoff for inclusion. He did make the most of the time he was here. He posted a 2.92 ERA and a 2.82 FIP. His K/9 rate was only 5.13 but made up for it with a 2.64 BB/9 and a scant 0.21 HR/9. His gmLi was 1.56.

He ranks 13th in WAR, 2nd in WARIP, 1st in HR/9 (half that of the next lowest), 6th in ERA and 3rd in FIP among Blue Jays relievers all time.

At age 65, Murray appears to just be enjoying retirement.

7. Billy Koch

DUNEDIN, FL – FEBRUARY 28: Billy Koch of the Toronto Blue Jays poses for a portrait during photo day at the Bobby Mattick Training Center on February 28, 2005 in Dunedin, Florida. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Billy Koch

Billy Koch: fiery in every way except literally. Fiery fastball and fiery personality. It made him unpredictable both on and off the field. When Koch was able to channel that fire correctly it made him into one of the most imposing closers in baseball. When it wasn’t contained or directed properly, things got explosive.

Koch was a home grown success story being drafted first round (4th overall) by the Jays in 1996. Koch began his minor league career starting but there was never really any doubt what he was meant for. Koch got his chance in 1999 and capitalized on it, sticking with the team for the remainder of the year and seizing the closer’s job. This surprising debut got him into 7th place on the rookie of the year ballot. He one-upped himself the next year with a 2.63 ERA/3.36 FIP and a 1.8 WAR.

After another less successful season, Koch was traded to the Athletics and the Jays received a package in return that included Eric Hinske. Just over three years later, Koch’s career was in significant decline. He signed a tryout deal with the Jays. Heartwarming reunion right? Well, the Jays released Koch after 4 bad spring outings. Koch didn’t take it well let’s just say. He refused to sign with another team so the Jays would have to pay him every cent of the contract they had signed. He also showed up to a Jays game in Tampa Bay to heckle the Jays.

A rare and little understood disease called Morgellons may have also contributed to the early demise of Koch’s career.

Koch had a 3.57 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 7.31 K/9, 3.44 BB/9, 100 Saves and a 3.1 WAR in his Jays career. He had a gmLi of 1.65.

Koch is 9th in WARIP, 3rd in saves, 3rd in save %, 3rd in WPA, 3rd in SD/MD

What Koch is up to today is anyone’s guess. He last made news when was arrested in 2009 after an altercation with a neighbour.

6. Casey Janssen

May 17, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Casey Janssen (44) during the game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Blue Jays defeated the Texas Rangers 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The dust has hardly settled on Casey Janssen’s Blue Jays career. He was a polarizing figure in his last year in Toronto but posterity should soon recall his tenure as a very successful one overall. It may be difficult for some to accept, perhaps due to the fog of recency and a lack of context, but Janssen is one of the greatest Blue Jays relievers ever.

Janssen was a homegrown talent being drafted by the Blue Jays in 2004 in the 4th round. He broke into the big leagues as a starter in 2006 and, all things considered, did ok. However the next year, the Jays tried him out in the bullpen where he excelled. He posted a 2.35 ERA, 3.85 FIP in 72.2 innings. He missed 2008 due to injury. He came back as a starter in 2009 but that didn’t end well. In 2010, he reverted to being a full time reliever and never started again. 2010 and 2011 saw Janssen excel in the set up role. In 2012 Janssen became the closer out of necessity as Francisco Cordero was… quite terrible actually. Janssen ran with the opportunity and was the Jays’ closer the subsequent two years as well. He was voted the top Jays pitcher for 2012. He made good on 89% of his save opportunities during the three years he was the closer.

He left Toronto as a free agent for Washington with some friction. Janssen had been frustrated by the team’s unwillingness to add pieces to take them to next level—which was understandable. Janssen’s departure left a gaping hole at the back end of the Jays’ bullpen which has yet to be filled.

Janssen had a distinctive style on the mound. He rocked back and forth and breathed extremely heavily before each pitch—as if each was the most important he’d ever throw. In spite of this intense routine, he inspired confidence. He was an atypical closer relying on pinpoint control and a range of pitches.

He had a 2.92 ERA, 3.37 FIP in 367 games as a Blue Jays reliever. He had a 7.55 K/9, 2.23 BB/9, 0.74 HR/9 with a 1.27 gmLi.

Janssen is 7th in WAR, 4th in Saves, 8th in IP, 1st in BB/9, 5th in ERA, 7th in FIP, 4th in SD/MD (shutdown to meltdown ratio), 4th in SV%

Janssen is only one on this list who is currently playing.

5. B.J Ryan

Credit: Al Messerschmidt

Yes, that enormous contract was a bust (was it even possible for it to be worth it though?) but that’s not really on B.J Ryan. He missed nearly two years due to injury and was bought out from the last year of his contract after it was clear his arm would be never be the same. However he did put together the best season (still) by a Blue Jays reliever since the World Series and had another pretty good season. His Jays tenure is easy to sum up: when he wasn’t injured, he was as electric as any reliever the Jays have had. Let’s not fault B.J for J.P Ricciardi’s indiscretions.

Ryan was drafted by the Reds in 1998 and made his debut with them the following year.  After one game, he was traded the Orioles. Ryan was never pegged as a starter, even in the minors. With the Orioles, Ryan transitioned from being a lefty specialist to a late inning reliever. He added movement to his fastball and honed his wicked slider. When he reached free agency, he was highly coveted and it was Ricciardi’s Blue Jays who coveted him the most (too much).

His first year with the Jays was the pinnacle of his career and Ricciardi looked like a genius. Ryan put up an ERA of 1.37, a 2.14 FIP, 10.7 K/9, 38 saves and 2.7 WAR. The next year disaster struck as Ryan went down to Tommy John. That was the beginning of the end. It’s possible that he tried to come back too quickly from TJ. Ryan put together a nice season in 2008 but it was clear his mechanics were different—that lead to more injury and the end of his career.

In his prime, he was nearly untouchable and exuded a bulldog like presence on the mound. His fierce glare, towering stature and quick pace on the mound struck fear (or at least caution and respect) in the minds of hitters. He had a 2.95 ERA and a 3.59 FIP in 155 games with the Jays. He put up big strikeout numbers (9.27 K/9), a fair number of walks (4 BB/9), limited home runs well ( 0.75 HR/9) and had a 1.57 gmLi.

He is 1st in SD/MD, 7th in K/9, 5th in WARIP, 1st in HR/FB, 7th in ERA, 1st in SV%, 5th in saves and 9th in WHIP among all Blue Jays relievers.

B.J is 39 and not currently involved with baseball.

4. Dan Plesac

TORONTO SUN/FILES

Dan Plesac was drafted in the 1st round by the Brewers in 1983. He was a reliever his whole career except for an odd partial experiment in 1991 and 1992. He played 7 years for the Brewers, 2 for the Cubs and two for the Pirates before he came to the Jays. Plesac was a part of 3 Blue Jays trades in his career. This one was (eventually) a nine player deal with the Jays sending about 6 minor leaguers Pittsburgh’s way. Plesac spent parts of three seasons with the Jays and then was traded in the midst of the 1999 campaign. Plesac went to the Diamondbacks in exchange for Tony Batista and John Frascatore—a pretty good swap.

Plesac went back to the Blue Jays as a free agent in 2001 and stayed for one and half more seasons before he was traded the third time. In 2002, the Jays and Phillies swapped Plesac and Cliff Politte. Plesac played 18 seasons in total. By the time Plesac played with the Jays he was mainly used for less than an inning’s work at a time. He was usually brought in for a tough out or two and not necessarily just against lefties (but more so).

Plesac threw hard and racked up strikeouts with a nasty slider. He had a 4.21 ERA, 3.39 FIP in 262 games with the Jays. His strikeout rate was excellent (11.1 K/9) but had trouble with the long ball from time to time (1.04 HR/9) (1.68 gmLi). He never had the raw talent of Koch or Ryan but was much more consistent and dependable over his time with the Jays.

He is 4th in WARIP, 2nd in K/9, 8th in FIP, 9th in WAR, 3rd in gmLi, 7th in SDs

Dan Plesac played his last game in 2003 and transitioned into broadcasting. He is currently an analyst with MLB Network. Interestingly Plesac is 7th all time among pitchers in games played.

3. Mark Eichhorn

US Presswire

Mark Eichhorn

In 1979, Mark Eichhorn was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 2nd round. He was developed as a starter and made his Major League debut in 1982. He made seven starts. He then suffered a shoulder injury and didn’t resurface with the big league club until 1986. Those years were a struggle for Eichhorn and the injury eventually forced him to adopt his (now) signature sidearm delivery. He never regained the fastball velocity but made up for it with accuracy and the deceptive delivery.

His comeback in 1986 was to be more impressive than anyone could have imagined. He burst back on the scene with one of the best ever seasons by a reliever—certainly the best ever by a Blue Jay. He appeared in 69 games but often pitched 3 or more innings each time he came in. Mark Eichhorn was there to bridge the gap from where the starter left off to where Tom Henke picked things up. It didn’t seem to matter how long that gap was—Mark Eichhorn pitched it. As a result, he threw 157 innings that year. His line for 1986 looks like a starter’s. He had 14 wins, 6 losses, a puny 1.72 ERA, 2.31 FIP, 0.955 WHIP and 166 strikeouts. If he had thrown just 5 more innings, he would have qualified for and won the ERA title that year.

He would never reach such lofty heights again but he put together a few more solid campaigns. In 1987 the Jays used him for fewer innings each time but more appearances in total. He led the league in games that year. Eichhorn struggled in 1988 and was traded to the Braves for cash. He turned his career back around again in California and in 1992, Pat Gillick had a need for middle relief. He gave the Angels a call, sent them a few spare parts and brought Mark back to where it all began. Eichhorn helped the Jays win both World Series. He bounced around for a few years after and played his last game in 1996. He attempted an unsuccessful comeback with the Jays in 2000.

Eichhorn had a 2.83 ERA and 3.27 FIP in 272 games with the Blue Jays. 7.04 K/9, 3.03 BB/9 and a 0.57 HR/9.

Eichhorn is 3rd in WAR, 7th in WARIP, 8th in games, 4th in IP, 3rd in HR/9, 3rd in ERA, 5th in FIP.

2. Duane Ward

JEFF GOODE / TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO

Former Blue Jays stopper Duane Ward has fond memories of 25 years ago when the SkyDome opened.

Duane Ward was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1982. He was selected in the 1st round, 9th overall. Things didn’t work out as the Braves and Ward would have hoped. Ward was being groomed as a starter but the results were coming very slowly. Ward had sky high walk rates and rather low strikeout totals. After giving him a brief look at the major league level, Atlanta dealt him to Toronto for Doyle Alexander. Ward spent the rest of his career with the Jays and played his first game for them that year.

In 1987 Ward and the Blue Jays began to see improvement when they started to transition him into reliever at Syracuse. 1988 was a breakout year for Ward. He stuck with the major league team the whole year and never started again. He quickly became Tom Henke’s set up man. Ward’s emergence was one reason why the Jays traded Eichhorn. Ward was Henke’s right hand man for the next four years and helped give the Blue Jays one of the best bullpen pairs in baseball. Henke left after the 1992 season and the keys to the bullpen were passed down to Ward. He was to prove more than worthy of them. He filled his predecessor’s shoes and maybe even one-upped him that year. Ward had 45 saves, a 2.13 ERA, 2.09 FIP, 1.033 WHIP and a 12.2 K/9. Ward placed 5th in Cy Young voting, 22nd in MVP voting and went to the all-star game.

Ward got the save in the famous 15-14 victory in Game 4 1993 and was the winning pitcher in the deciding Game 6. Ward kept his best stuff for World Series’. In such games he had a 1.13 ERA, 14.6 K/9, 3 wins, 2 saves, only 1 earned run and just 5 walks/hits against in 8 innings.

Sadly, for all intents and purposes, that was the last year that Ward would compete. He did pitch 4 games in 1995 with the Jays but he was a shell. Injuries struck Ward hard and cut him down in the prime of his career. Ward might have been #1 on this list if he was able to play as long as Henke. Even being cut short at age 29, Ward is still the clear number 2 here. 4 of the Top 10 best seasons by WAR for a Jays reliever belong to Ward.

Ward had a 3.07 ERA and a 2.70 FIP in 450 games with the Blue Jays as a reliever. 9.3 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, 0.42 HR/9 with a gmLI of 1.42.

Ward is 2nd in WAR, 3rd in WARIP, 2nd in Games, 1st in innings, 6th in K/9, 2nd in HR/9, 2nd in FIP, 2nd in WPA, 2nd in SDs, 2nd in Saves, 1st in strikeouts

Ward occasionally does radio work on Blue Jays broadcasts these days.

1. Tom Henke

Tom Henke, the Terminator, closed out the Jays’ big extra-inning win over the Orioles on Sept. 29, 1989, punching their ticket to the post-season.

DAVID COOPER / TORONTO STAR FILE

Was there any doubt when you started reading this? About #1 or #2? Hopefully #4 through #10 were intriguing and worthy of debate. To no one’s surprise, Tom Henke is the greatest Blue Jays’ reliever of all time.

Henke was drafted three times but eventually signed with the Rangers in 1980. From his earliest days in the minors, it was pretty clear that Henke was destined for the bullpen. Henke never started a game in the majors. He played his first games in 1982 and showed promise in 15.2 innings. He bounced back and forth between the majors and minors for the 1983 and 1984 seasons. He couldn’t seem to secure a permanent spot. By Henke’s own admission later, in those days he was a thrower and not a pitcher.

1985, Pat Gillick made one of his master strokes. The Rangers had signed Cliff Johnson and the Jays were owed a compensatory pick. The Jays selection was Tom Henke. The Jays even got Cliff Johnson back for PTBNLs later that year. Henke mowed down his Syracuse opponents, was called up to the Jays and never looked back. Overnight it seemed, Henke became a “pitcher” and began earning the nickname “Terminator.” Henke had a 2.03 ERA/ 2.48 FIP that year and received MVP and rookie of the year votes. Henke became the closer in 1986 and held that role until the World Series win in 1992.

Henke left as a free agent in 1993 to Rangers (who must have been kicking themselves for letting him go all those years) and retired after the 1995 season. Just like Ward, Henke’s career ended after a great season but for Henke the decision was voluntary and he was 37 at the time.

Henke’s best season was probably 1989. His ERA was 1.92, 1.80 FIP with an 11.7 K/9. Henke had 5 saves in the 1992 World Series run and had a career playoff ERA of 1.83 in 19.2 innings.

Henke had a 2.48 ERA, 2.53 FIP, 10.29 K/9, 2.65 BB/9, 0.77 HR/9 and a 1.76 gmLI in 446 games with the Jays

Henke is 1st in WARIP, 1st in WAR, 3nd in Games, 3rd in Innings, 4th in K/9, 6th in BB/9, 1st in ERA, 1st in FIP, 1st in Saves, 2nd in SV%, 2nd in Strikeouts, 2nd in SD/MD, 1st in SDs, 1st in WPA, 2nd highest gmLI

Honourable Mentions:

Victor Cruz would have made the top 10 had he not missed the innings cutoff. Other inning cutoff notables include: Scott Eyre, Marc Rzepczynski, Todd Stottlemyre, Pete Vuckovich, Kevin Gregg

Mike Timlin was ranked 11th

Brett Cecil, Jason Frasor, Tony Castillo, Aaron Loup, David Wells, Darren Oliver, Dennis Lamp, Danny Cox and Justin Speier rounded out the top 20

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