3 Blue Jays relievers who’ve moved up the trust tree, 2 who’ve already moved down

After the Blue Jays endured a disastrous season last year in their bullpen it was vital for the team to rectify that issue in the offseason to have any kind of success in 2025.

To help facilitate that change, the Blue Jays had a massive overhaul of the bullpen in the hopes it would bring about success.

That thinking was personified at the end spring training when the Blue Jays' front office made some difficult decisions in finalizing the last spots in the bullpen. In the end, the Jays ended up going with the eight relievers they thought gave them a chance to win. And after 10 games, it's clear that some of those relievers have been working out, while some others have gotten off to a rough start.

Let's take a look at three Blue Jays relievers who have moved up the trust tree and two who have moved down a rung or two.

3 Blue Jays relievers who’ve moved up the trust tree, 2 who’ve already moved down

Moving Up: Yimi García

When the Jays signed García during the offseason, he immediately moved up to near the top of the trust tree after spending parts of three previous seasons with Toronto.

And while everyone knew he was going to be good, I don't think anyone knew he would be this good from the start since he was coming off a right elbow injury that ended his season.

After putting together an impressive spring training where he posted a 2.57 ERA in seven innings, García has been even better so far during the regular season. He's been unhittable in his five appearances, as he's give up just two hits with five strikeouts without allowing any runs in 4 1/3 innings. He's also recorded two holds and, just for good measure, recorded his first save of the season against the Washington Nationals.

With that, Jays’ manager John Schneider should be confident that he could throw García into any situation without much worry. As the most experienced reliever in the bullpen, García should be help the entire relief corps bounce back from their forgettable 2024 season.

Moving down: Jacob Barnes

One of the surprising roster additions ahead of Opening Day for the Blue Jays came when they included veteran journeyman Jacob Barnes on their 26-man roster rather than a proven commodity in Ryan Yarbrough.

Barnes signed a minor league contract by Toronto just of spring training and struggled throughout the exhibition slate. He amassed a 6.75 ERA with one blown save in six appearances.

Nevertheless, he still managed to strike out six batters in 5 1/3 innings, which seems to be what helped him earn a spot on the on the Blue Jays roster.

The Jays were likely hoping for some more positive results once the season got underway, but it's been more of the same. Barnes was touched up for multiple runs in each of first two innings and has allowed four earned run in four innings of work. He also has one walk and three strikeouts.

Barnes' last appearance came in lower leverage against the Mets, and that will likely be the trend until the 34-year-old veteran shows he can handle impact situations.

Moving Up: Brendon Little

While the Blue Jays' bullpen went through it's struggles last year, Little was one of the few cogs who helped hold it together.

Acquired from the Chicago Cubs ahead of the 2024 season, Little would put together a solid 2024 campaign, compiling a 3.74 ERA with seven holds, one save, 19 walks and 36 strikeouts in 45 2/3 innings.

He also emerged as the most trusted-left handed pitcher in the bullpen as Tim Mayza and Génesis Cabrera struggled, which led to him entering this season as the club’s No. 1 lefty option.

Prior to Saturday’s blip when he allowed two runs in 2/3 innings, the 28-year-old reliever had been solid, giving up just one run on three hits with zero walks and five strikeouts in four innings of work over four appearances.

And, in a bit of a good sign, he bounced back the next day by tossing a 1-2-3 eighth inning.

Little's role has definitely increased this season — both as a lefty specialist but also as a weapon as a whole.

Yariel Rodríguez moving down 

Following a decent MLB debut with the Jays in 2024, Rodríguez entered the offseason seemingly as the No. 5 starter in the Jays' rotation.

That changed in January, however, as the Blue Jays signed Max Scherzer to occupy one of the spots in the rotation, which led to Rodríguez losing his roster spot to Bowden Francis.

That decision was likely also made because of his horrendous spring training where he compiled a gaudy 9.31 ERA with 10 earned runs in just 9 2/3 innings. As a result, the 28-year-old right-hander ended up starting the 2025 year in the Jays’ bullpen. 

He hasn't done much better in the bullpen, as he's put up a less-than-stellar 9.00 ERA with three walks and four strikeouts in four innings of work. He also has yet to have an outing where he stopped a runner from reaching base.

He's still the de-facto swingman so he'll see some game action, but he needs to be better going forward.

Moving Up: Nick Sandlin

When the Jays made the big splash of acquiring Gold Glove winner Andrés Giménez in the offseason, everyone appeared to zero in on the promising young infielder, leaving Sandlin as the forgotten piece in the puzzle.

It doesn't look like anyone is going to forget about Sandlin any time soon.

The 28-year-old right-hander with a funky sidearm delievery has dazzled so far with the Jays.

Following a solid training camp in which he posted a 1-0 record with four holds and 3.18 ERA in 5 2/3 innings, Sandlin has gotten off to a strong start to the season.

Through four innings, he's held the opposition to just one run on two hits, along with four walks and five strikeouts.

The Jays have had some success with sidearmers in their bullpen like Adam Cimber and Mark Eichhorn, and it seems like they appear to have struck gold again in Sandlin.