Blue Jays’ Adam Cimber Has Been Very Valuable Down the Stretch

Coming into the 2021 campaign, the Toronto Blue Jays bullpen was supposed to be a strong suit for the team, while the starting rotation was supposed to be a weak spot. Now, with only three games remaining in the regular season, it turns out it was the complete opposite.

With the likes of Cy Young candidate Robbie Ray, AL Rookie of the Year Candidate in Alek Manoah, trade deadline acquisition Jose Berrios, as well as Hyun-Jin Ryu and Steven Matz, the starting rotation for the Blue Jays has been one of the best in baseball this season. The bullpen, on the other hand, has wildly underperformed compared to pre-season expectations. One relief pitcher who has exceeded expectations is right-hander Adam Cimber.

Cimber, 31, started the season with the Miami Marlins. He was traded to the Blue Jays, along with outfielder Corey Dickerson, on June 29th of this year. Toronto sent infielder Joe Panik and minor league relief pitcher Adam McInvale to Miami in exchange for Cimber.

Coming to Toronto, Cimber was expected to be another low-leverage arm available for Charlie Montoyo to call upon when needed in the bullpen. With the Blue Jays in the midst of an extremely tight Wild Card race though, Cimber has been a very valuable arm who has been reliable in high-leverage situations.

In fact, Cimber has quietly been one of the best relievers in all of baseball as of late. Over the past 30 days, the righty has a 1.23 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, only one walk given up, and has even earned a save, over 29.1 innings.

With the Blue Jays clinging to hope of potentially appearing in the American League Wild Card game, Adam Cimber’s performance down the stretch is a major reason why. Cimber pitching the 8th inning prior to Jordan Romano coming in the 9th inning for the save has been a very dependable option for Charlie Montoyo the Blue Jays.

As an added bonus, Cimber doesn’t become an unrestricted free agent until after the 2023 season.