How can the Blue Jays improve their bullpen?

It was a roller coaster ride for the Blue Jays bullpen in 2021 and they certainly will be looking at adding some relievers this offseason.

The evolution of the Toronto Blue Jays bullpen in the 2021 season was an up and down adventure with plenty of peaks and valleys. According to FanGraphs, Toronto’s bullpen ranked 12th in MLB in strikeouts per 9.0 innings pitched with 9.41, 15th in ERA at 4.08, and 25th in WAR with 1.6.

The Blue Jays cannot be in a position in 2022 like they were during the 2021 season, where we saw the likes of Tyler Chatwood, Travis Bergen, and Brad Hand (just to name a few) cost this ball club wins. The bullpen simply shouldn’t be seen as such a big Achilles heel that you point to it at various parts of the season and determine that it was the big culprit for the team not being where it should be in the standings.

It is fair to expect another strong season from Jordan Romano at the back of the bullpen, but relievers like Adam Cimber and Trevor Richards could be regression candidates, which underscores the need for more options that can miss bats in a multitude of spots out of the pen.

The keys for the 2022 edition of the Toronto Blue Jays are quality and depth so let’s break down some free-agent relievers that could be good fits for what the Blue Jays might be looking for when they look to go shopping.