Blue Jays: How 2022 could be make-or-break for Julian Merryweather

Looking back at the 2021 regular season, one of the areas the Blue Jays struggled the most was with the bullpen. Injuries early in the season to key players like David Phelps and Kirby Yates along with almost every other relief pitcher forced manager Charlie Montoyo to use a wide array of replacements. Similarly, Montoyo arguably overused some pitchers as well, giving a little too much freedom to Tyler Chatwood and Rafael Dolis which ended up costing the Blue Jays a few much-needed wins by the time October rolled around.

Another player that made a pretty sizeable impact on the relief corps when he went down with a long-term injury was right-hander Julian Merryweather.

The former Cleveland Guardians fifth-round pick in 2014 had a cup of coffee with the Jays in 2020 but pitched well enough to earn a spot on the Opening Day roster for the 2021 campaign. The California product had an amazing start to the season, earning two saves against the New York Yankees in their first series of the year and did not allow an earned run through his first four appearances. This strong start would be shelved come mid-April when the hard-throwing right-hander would be placed on the injured list with an oblique injury and would not return to the active roster until mid-September. Upon his return, he was unable to find the same form fans saw prior to the injury, allowing seven earned runs with four home runs over his last nine outings with only five strikeouts.

Fast forward to today, and the Blue Jays bullpen scenario looks a little bit different as the club heads into 2022. Looking at the overall picture, if the Jays were to roll into Spring Training right now (and have eight pitchers in the bullpen), there would only be two spots up for grabs. Considering free agency and Major League transactions are currently on hold until a new CBA is in place, this number could decrease if the front office adds a few more bullpen arms into the mix when they are able to do so.

After spending most of the 2021 campaign on the IL and in the minors, 2022 may be a make-or-break campaign for Blue Jays relief pitcher Julian Merryweather.

After such a dominant start to the 2021 season, it’s tough to imagine what the Blue Jays bullpen situation would have looked like if Merryweather would not have gotten injured so early into the campaign. While it is difficult to see him continuing to pitch at such a great clip over the course of the entire season, having Merryweather at the back end of the bullpen could have saved the club a few headaches when it came to the 6, 7, and 8 innings before Jordan Romano came into the game.

At 30 years old, Merryweather has one minor league option left and is not considered a prospect anymore. When healthy, Blue Jays fans are aware of what he can do on the mound and with the club not having as many open bullpen spots compared to what they rolled in with last season, it is going to be a battle for whatever remains during Spring Training this year.

Merryweather needs to show the front office and Charlie Montoyo that he can stay healthy but also stay dominant when he is on the mound, especially if he makes the team come Opening Day. He has all the tools and the arsenal to be an effective shut down late innings reliever but with the Blue Jays on the cusp of playoff baseball given their current roster, poor performance or injuries could spell the end for a player like Merryweather as a member of this team. Even though he has minor league options available, the club is not afraid to cut loose relief pitchers with options for 40-man roster spots if they see fit, evidenced by Connor Overton’s being DFA last season.

I will say that I am rooting for the 6’4″ right-hander, as he was such a weapon against the Yankees early last season and could be a potential bounce-back candidate this upcoming year. In my opinion, his biggest hurdle will be staying healthy all year round, as he needs to be on the mound as much as possible next season if he wants to stay with the Toronto Blue Jays long-term.