Three free agent relievers the Blue Jays should consider signing

The Toronto Blue Jays have the formula to be among the best teams in baseball. They have a loaded lineup with stars like Bo Bichette, George Springer, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to name a few. They have some really solid arms like Jose Berrios and Kevin Gausman. The big weakness for this team in my opinion is the bullpen.

The Jays bullpen has some really nice pieces. Jordan Romano is their best reliever in my opinion and will likely serve as the closer if they don’t add more arms to the ‘pen. That wouldn’t be a bad thing, but he doesn’t have the experience to make me fully sold on that idea right now.

The rest of the bullpen has arms that have fared pretty well in the past, but I wouldn’t call them high leverage arms.

Guys like Julian Merryweather and Nate Pearson (assuming he’s in the bullpen) have loads of potential but have barely pitched at the big league level.

Guys like Yimi Garcia, Adam Cimber, Trevor Richards, and David Phelps have pitched well in the past but I personally wouldn’t consider any of them late-inning arms. They’re guys who can get outs in the middle innings.

Tim Mayza had a nice year in 2021 but are we ready to say he should be the best lefty in the ‘pen in a division with guys like Rafael Devers, Brandon Lowe, and Cedric Mullins in it?

The bottom line is I think the bullpen has some nice pieces but can really use an upgrade. Here are three players I believe can help in a big way.

Andrew Chafin

One of the better left-handed relievers in baseball last year was Andrew Chafin. Because of the fact that he split his time between the Cubs and Athletics, he fell under the radar to many. Chafin enjoyed his best season in 2021 going 2-4 with a 1.73 ERA in 71 appearances.

For pretty much his entire eight-year career, Chafin has been a left-handed specialist. He’s not overpowering by any means but has gotten the job done more often than not.

Chafin held lefties to a .170/.250/.223 slash line in 2021 allowing just two extra-base hits; a home run and a triple. In a division with talented lefties, that’ll be very useful to have in the Jays bullpen.

Chafin was also very reliable against righties this past season, which is good since the three batter rule is still in effect. Right-handed hitters slashed .196/.247/.304 against him which is really impressive.

In his career, lefties have posted a .577 OPS against him which is a really good number.

Since he is coming off of his best year, I believe Chafin will get a multi-year deal but I don’t think it’ll be more than two years. I believe something a little cheaper than the two-year $17 million dollar deal Aaron Loup signed with the Angels this offseason will get the job done.

Mayza is a solid reliever but he doesn’t have the long track record of Chafin. Plus, I believe every bullpen should have a second lefty. Chafin would be a great one to add.

Collin McHugh

In my opinion, the best reliever in this free-agent class who is still available is Collin McHugh. The 34-year-old has experience as a starter, a middle innings guy, and a late-inning reliever and has done well in all three roles.

McHugh had an excellent six-year run in Houston where he transitioned from a starter to a really useful and reliable reliever. After opting out of the 2020 season, McHugh pitched with the Rays in 2021 and had his best year yet.

He went 6-1 with a 1.55 ERA in 37 appearances. He allowed just 6.8 H/9, 1.7 BB/9, and struck out 10.4 K/9. As a former starter, McHugh was relied upon to go multiple innings in a lot of his appearances and even served as an opener seven times. He threw 64 innings in his 37 appearances, pitching in a variety of different roles.

If the Blue Jays were to sign McHugh, I’d want him in a similar role. If they don’t sign a fifth starter he can serve as an opener if needed. He can serve as a long man if a starter has to get pulled early. He can also serve as a late-game bridge to a guy like Romano or even Jansen.

McHugh can be relied upon to get both righties and lefties out. Lefties slashed just .163/.230/.213 allowing no home runs in 80 at-bats. He can get any hitter out in any spot anytime.