Blue Jays: Who goes to the bullpen when Stripling returns?

Steven Matz

Acquired in a trade with the New York Mets this past off-season, southpaw Steven Matz had a great start to the season with the Blue Jays before getting hit around in May. He only surrendered six earned runs through his first four games before putting a six and a five-spot over his next two, inflating his ERA over the 4.00 mark, where he has consistently stayed all season.

On the season, Matz currently owns a 4.28 ERA through 20 starts and 101.0 innings pitched, striking out 104 batters with just 29 walks. Similar to Stripling, the former Mets pitcher has been pitching well as of late, surrendering only eight earned runs through five starts with one outing against the Red Sox in late July accounting for four of those. Yesterday against the Angels was a bit of a hit to his audition if you will, pitching only 4.2 innings with two earned runs and five strikeouts, although he did walk three batters.

Matz has a few games under his belt as a reliever, pitching out of the pen five times over his last two seasons with the Mets with over 127 appearances as a starter for his career. The Stripling injury does help his chances of staying in the rotation if:

1. Stripling is out for an extended period of time
2. Matz pitches well over the next few starts, putting him ahead of the right-hander

The Toronto Blue Jays are currently running with a six-man rotation due to the doubleheaders the team was going through as well as the addition of Jose Berrios. This begs the question, who goes to the bullpen if the club decides to return to a five-man rotation?

Alek Manoah

A name that many fans would most likely not want to see moved to the bullpen, right-hander Alek Manoah has been a force in the rotation since called up from AAA back in May.

Through ten starts, the former first-round pick has pitched very well for the Blue Jays, owning a 2.58 ERA with 60 strikeouts, 19 walks, and a 4-1 record through 52.1 innings. He has only surrendered 15 earned runs all season and has been one of the biggest surprises of the year and is arguably working his way into receiving some Rookie of the Year consideration.

The reason Manoah is on this list comes down to innings and potential innings limits, as the 6’6″ right-hander had only pitched 35.0 innings of minor league ball before his call-up to the Blue Jays roster due to the minor league season being shut down because of COVID-19 in 2020. The rookie pitcher did go to the alternate training site to get reps in but it would not be surprising if the organization has him on an innings limit this season with how clubs use analytics to protect their star prospects.

I personally disagree with Manoah moving to the bullpen because of how well he is pitching but also if he is still feeling good and healthy, he should continue to start games. If he becomes fatigued or starts to struggle, then the club can make necessary changes but one cannot forget that Manoah did pitch 108.1 innings in his junior year at West Virginia University before being drafted, so he can go the distance when called upon.

Something to think about.

So who goes?

It kind of depends on how the Blue Jays approach the scenario.

Overall, unless Alek Manoah starts to become physically fatigued, there should be no real reason to consider him for the bullpen unless the Blue Jays really feel the analytics and pitch count outweigh the stats for him as a starter. That leaves just Stripling and Matz.

The Stripling injury throws a wrinkle into how the Blue Jays rotation is going to shape up, as last night’s doubleheader with both players pitching was pretty much an audition of sorts until he had to leave the game. He will be undergoing tests and will hopefully be only missing his next start and nothing more. For now, the Blue Jays rotation moves forward with five pitchers but will need to be addressed once Stripling returns to the roster.

If the Blue Jays want to go with a pitcher who has the most experience as a reliever then Stripling is the man who should be moved back. He has the most innings compared to Matz and could be used in middle relief or a long man role if necessary. The injury could also play a factor especially if Matz is throwing well in the rotation and gains the upper hand in terms of momentum.

Looking at other stats between the two, Steven Matz could be moved to the bullpen because of how his numbers compare to Stripling when it comes to facing batters through the order, as the right-hander does boast better stats when facing a lineup a second (.272 OBP) and third time (.354 OBP) through the order compared to the southpaw (.339 and .415 OBP respectively). Before the Brad Hand trade, one could also argue that another left-hander would be a bonus in the bullpen as well.

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Prior to the injury news last night, I fully thought that the Blue Jays would end up moving Steven Matz to the bullpen just because of how well Stripling is pitching as of late. His righty counterpart does have more experience as a reliever but considering the Jays will most likely be calling Nate Pearson up to the roster in the near future as a bullpen arm, having another left-hander to call upon in either middle relief or long-man would be beneficial while also keeping the hotter arm in the rotation with Stripling.

Now that there is the potential that Stripling could be out for an extended period of time, Matz will certainly be in the rotation and the question is put on pause for the time being.

It is anybody’s guess at this point and truth be told, they could realistically run with a six-man rotation to finish the season because of how Hyun Jin Ryu usually likes to pitch with an extra day of rest once Stripling returns. This would take away either an arm in the bullpen or a roster spot on the bench, so if they go with the extra starter, the rotation will have to pitch deeper into games in order to not tax the bullpen.

Where do you stand on this notion Blue Jays fans? Who should be moved to the bullpen?