Blue Jays: Recapping what’s gone wrong in the bullpen this season

It’s hard not to think about where the Blue Jays would be with a more effective bullpen. It’s been a weakness for the team for all but the very early stages of the schedule, and unfortunately it’s become a regular occurrence to witness blown leads in the late innings. We saw that very thing play out again against the lowly Washington Nationals to begin the week, which resulted in a two-game sweep that the Blue Jays really can’t afford right now.

What’s truly maddening for Jays fans is that they’ve had a lot of very talented relievers come and go this season, and yet somehow they haven’t been able to put together a group of 7-8 that can do the job. In fact, most of the time it’s one or two that are reaching expectations, if that.

There are many different reasons why the bullpen has been such a weakness, and I thought it might be interesting to break it down. On one hand I actually feel bad for Ross Atkins and the front office, especially when you look at how many serviceable relievers have been added to the roster over the last 12 months. On the other, I think even they’d admit that they need to do a better job of identifying talent ahead of next season, even if their track record in that department was pretty good prior to 2021.

Whether it’s been injuries, underperformance, or other factors at play, the Blue Jays bullpen simply hasn’t been effective enough to keep this team in the playoff hunt. Let’s have a look at what’s worked against them.

Missed expectations and disappointing results

As much as injuries have hurt the bullpen, the arms that have been available to Charlie Montoyo and Pete Walker haven’t performed the way that most of us hoped for or expected.

Outside of Jordan Romano and Tim Mayza, I’m not sure that you could say anybody has outperformed those expectations. As a fan, I think that’s what drives me the most nuts about this whole thing. On paper there is so much talent, and yet it’s been one frustration after another.

I figured this was an area that’s even worthy of recapping just how many relievers have disappointed.

Rafael Dolis

Expectation: Late-inning reliever, possible candidate to save some games
Reality: 5.63 ERA, 1.750 WHIP, -0.3 bWAR, DFA’d on Wednesday

Tyler Chatwood

Expectation: Late to middle inning arm, hard-throwing strikeout arm
Reality: 5.46 ERA, 1.429 WHIP, -0.1 bWAR, 28 IP, DFA’d on July 30

Ryan Borucki

Expectation: Late-inning lefty, high leverage candidate
Reality: Injured most of the year, 5.12 ERA, 1.138 WHIP, 19.1 IP, -0.1 bWAR, option to Triple-A

Brad Hand

Expectation: Experienced late-inning reliever with closer’s experience, help for Romano
Reality: 7.50 ERA as a Blue Jay

Trent Thornton

Expectation: Long-man for bullpen, solid right-handed contributor
Reality: 4.71 ERA, 1.405 WHIP, 42 IP, -0.4 bWAR

Anthony Kay

Expectation: Long-man/spot starter, effective reliever in 2020
Reality: 5.61 ERA, 1.663 WHIP, 33.2 IP, -0.1 bWAR

I could go on, but I think you get my point here. Outside of a handful of reliable contributors, there are times when I truly feel bad for the coaching staff as they try to decide where to turn after they’ve taken their starter out.

Between injuries and disappointing performances, that should be enough on it’s own to make things tough for the Blue Jays bullpen. That said, I’d argue there’s at least one more factor at play here.

Who is ultimately responsible here?

As I’ve already stated, there have been times when I’ve felt bad for both the front office and the coaching staff because of everything at play with the bullpen this year. That said, there are some tough questions that need to be asked.

First of all, there’s no shortage of Charlie Montoyo slander on social media these days, and to some degree he may even be deserving of the criticism. It’s hard not to like the man and I do my best not to criticize him that much, but lately he’s made a lot of questionable decisions as the Blue Jays have been clinging for their playoff lives.

More from Jays Journal

• Matt Chapman has been exactly what the Blue Jays needed
• Blue Jays: The goalposts are moving in the right direction
• Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays advance to the Championship Series
• Blue Jays: Comparisons for Alek Manoah’s Second Season
• Blue Jays: Adam Cimber, the unlikely decision King

Whether it’s been taking starting pitchers out too early, putting too much trust in a struggling veteran, or simply which pitcher he choses to use for a given situation, I’m sure there are a few decisions that Montoyo would like to have back.

Having said all that, there’s another question that I haven’t heard asked many times, so I’m just going to go ahead and say it. Why doesn’t Pete Walker seem to face any criticism about the performance of the bullpen?

He’s widely respected by Blue Jays fans as a pitching coach that can help a struggling starter reach their potential. Look no further than the way that Robbie Ray revived his career after becoming a Blue Jay, and there have been other examples over the last few years. If he has the magic touch to help starters, why has the bullpen been such a disaster this year?

To be fair, the Blue Jays have done a good job of finding value for their bullpen over the last few seasons, and Walker is part of the reason for that success. Atkins and Mark Shapiro arguably had better luck when they were bargain shopping for the bullpen than when they were willing to spend some money, such as they did at this year’s bullpen. Perhaps that’s why Walker gets a lot more slack here, in addition to his notorious work with starters, but in this case I think he deserves to be part of the equation.

The reality is you can spread the blame around a lot of directions. The relievers have largely underperformed, or have been injured, the coaching staff hasn’t been able to manage those they’ve had to work with well enough, and the front office had some big misses, even if a lot of it comes down to bad luck. Add it all up and it’s been a problem area that persists, and may very well cost the Blue Jays at a chance to return to the postseason.