Blue Jays rumours: Top 5 non-tender candidates to watch this week

5- Bullpen help available?

One of the abilities that I’ve appreciated the most from the current front office in Toronto has been their penchant for finding quality arms for the bullpen. Whether it was examples like Anthony Bass, Rafael Dolis, or A.J. Cole from this year, or others from the past like David Phelps, or Daniel Hudson, they seem to have a pretty good eye for that area of roster building, especially on a budget.

Looking at the list of relievers that could come available, I could see the Blue Jays rolling the dice on a few. For example, there are a pair of right-handers that the L.A. Angels might cut loose in Hansel Robles and Keynan Middleton. Both were downright dreadful in 2020, but it was a small sample size and the bullpen can be volatile at the best of times. It could also be a formula that leads to their being available on the cheap.

To reiterate, neither did anything worth writing home about in 2020, but there is a recent enough of success to be intrigued.

Robles
2019:  2.48 ERA, 1.018 WHIP, 72.2 IP, 23 saves
2020:  10.26 ERA, 17.40 WHIP, 16.2 IP, 1 save

Middleton
2018:  2.04 ERA. 1.302 WHIP, 17.2 IP
2019:  1.17 ERA, 1.435 WHIP, 7.2 IP
2020:  5.25 ERA, 1.500 WHIP, 12 IP

In Middleton’s case, he’s still working way back from the Tommy John surgery he had in 2019, and control was a big issue for him last year. That said, he was viewed as a closer type before his surgery, and the Angels had hoped he could find that form in 2020 once he was healthy again. Since that didn’t happen, he could be a non-tender candidate and an intriguing one.

As for Robles, he lost some velocity on his fastball this past season, but at the age of 29 there’s no reason to think he’s finished. With a proper offseason and spring training regimen, he’s a pitcher that could be worth a look, and may even help reinforce the back of the bullpen. We’ll see if the Angels decide to hang on to one or both, but it could be worth keeping an eye on.