Blue Jays manager John Schneider fully behind Tyler Rogers' pursuit of an MLB record

Tyler Rogers was one of the highlight offseason pick ups by the Toronto Blue Jays. The eight-year veteran came over with some pedigree. He's developed into one of the most reliable and effective relievers in the game over the last few season's, leading the league in relief appearances four times in his career.

With a career 9.8 bWAR and a 2.75 ERA, Rogers was brought in to be a reliable, and heavily used option for manager John Schneider in 2026. According to Blue Jays reporter Ben Nicholson-Smith, Rogers wants all of that and more as he has his sights set on the MLB holds record - something Schneider is fully supportive of.

Rogers wants his name at the top of the leader board in MLB holds

Coming into the season, Rogers had 154 holds in his MLB career, adding one on Friday night in the 3-2 win over the Athletics to get him to 155. That ties him with Scot Shields and Scott Linebrink for 25th on the all-time list and 91 back of the all-time leader, Tony Watson, who had 246 holds in his 11-year career that began in 2011 and ended in 2021. MLB didn't start registering holds in box scores until the late 1980's and it is still not recognized as an official stat, although it is tracked by MLB, so take that information however you'd like.

Rogers certainly wont get there this season. The record for holds in a single season is 41. That was achieved by Joel Peralta of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2013, and Watson who also had that many holds for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2015. Rogers has hit 30+ holds three times, racking up 32 in each of the last two seasons.

Should Rogers continue to reach that threshold over the course of his tenure with the Blue Jays, he'll certainly surpass Watson at the top of the leaderboard, as that would give Rogers 250 holds. Rogers is signed to a three-year, $37 million contract with the Blue Jays and the 35-year-old will certainly be given plenty of opportunities in those hold situations for the Blue Jays.

Over the course of his career, Rogers has been lights out when pitching in the seventh and eighth innings, when holds are usually accrued by relief pitchers, should their team have the lead at that point. In 75.2 innings pitched in the seventh, Rogers has 49 strikeouts, while hitters have a .239 batting average and .674 OPS. In the eighth innings, Rogers gets even better with a 6.10 SO/W rate, totaling 183 K's, allowing just 68 runs in 242 innings pitched. That's a 2.34 ERA, with a .238 batting average against and a meager .600 OPS against as well.

Rogers has the make up and the stuff to be an elite back end of the bullpen option for the Blue Jays, and he's got the motivation of seeing his name move up the leaderboards.