3 free agent left-handed relievers the Blue Jays should pursue to fill bullpen hole

Miami Marlins v Atlanta Braves
Miami Marlins v Atlanta Braves | Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/GettyImages

One of the only positives from the Blue Jays' offseason thus far has been their dogged attempts to replenish their bullpen with solid, veteran arms. They brought back Yimi Garcia, traded for Nick Sandlin, and most recently signed Jeff Hoffman to a multiple-year deal. These shuffles have all been effective towards upgrading the team, but there is one issue that they did not clear up through all the moves.

That hole that they did not fill was the ongoing absence of a productive left-handed pitcher. The only southpaw in the pen right now is Brendon Little, who will have a higher leverage role in 2025, but they need a guy who's a bit more reliable for those late-game situations.

These left-handed relievers are exactly what Toronto needs, and are arms that they should consider signing.

The Blue Jays should try to sign one of these left-handed relievers before spring training.

AJ Minter

Minter served in Atlanta's bullpen for many years, but is now a free agent and will likely sign elsewhere as interest from the Red Sox builds up. This is a great opportunity for Toronto, as Minter is coming off a great season and would jump right into a high-leverage role in the bullpen.

Last season, Minter posted an earned run average of 2.62 with a FIP of 4.45 across 34.1 innings and struck out 35 batters. Opposing hitters batted just .197, and he walked opponents at a 8.2% clip to generate a WHIP of 1.02. Those numbers would fit in great with the Blue Jays and may not break the bank.

Andrew Chafin

Chafin is another veteran who has generated interest this offseason from teams, including an AL East rival in the Yankees. He has been around the league for a long time, but has still been very effective out of the bullpen, especially at inducing chases outside the zone.

In 2024, Chafin delivered a 3.51 earned run average with a WHIP of 1.47 in 56.1 innings. He walked a lot of opponents (12.6% of those he faced), and allowed an opposing batting average of .243. Chafin seems like more of a specialist against left-handed bats, but nonetheless would be a productive addition to Toronto's corps.

Scott Alexander

Lastly is Alexander, who is coming off arguably the best season of his career. Like Chafin, he is more of a specialist against left-handed bats, but is also a big boost to the bullpen.

A season ago, Alexander put together an earned run average of 2.56 in 28.2 innings and struck out 31 batters. He added a FIP of 3.89, along with a WHIP of 1.19. That came from an opposing batting average of .217 and a walk rate of 9.4%.

All three of these left-handed arms would be improvements to the bullpen and are all players they should consider bringing in. Going into the season with just one southpaw would be a poor idea, so even though the majority of their moves so far have involved adding to the bullpen, they should not stop if it means adding another left-hander.

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