Could this Blue Jays reliever be a 'dark horse' to make Opening Day roster?

There's no denying the bullpen was the Achilles heel for the Blue Jays last season. A year after having the eighth-best bullpen ERA in baseball (3.68), Toronto's 'pen took a nosedive last year with a 4.82 ERA, which was the second-worst mark in baseball.

While the Blue Jays' reinforcement of that bullpen has resulted in the front of the 'pen being pretty settled, the back of it is still a work in progress, and will one of the biggest position battles that we'll be paying attention to during spring training.

And, according to MLB.com's Keegan Matheson, there could be a unheralded player who could work himself into that picture.

Mason Fluharty tabbed as 'dark horse' to make Blue Jays' Opening Day roster

In a new story for MLB.com, each of the site's 30 beat reporters were asked to identify one "dark hose" to make each team's Opening Day roster, with Matheson selecting the 23-year-old Fluharty as his pick to sneak onto Toronto's Opening Day roster.

The Blue Jays need a second lefty to pair with Brendon Little, and while Fluharty would need to beat out some more veteran options, there’s a reason he’s so well regarded within the organization," Matheson wrote. "A deceptive lefty with a 3.63 ERA and 76 strikeouts over 67 innings in Triple-A last year, Fluharty should have every opportunity to make an impression this spring. He can pitch multiple innings, too, so at the very least, Fluharty can pitch himself into the depth conversation with a good camp."

Matheson's not wrong, as the Liberty University product would be a welcome addition to Toronto's bullpen — so long as he's at a point where he'd be ready to succeed in a big league bullpen. He opened spring training with a scoreless inning with one hit and two strikeouts against the Yankees on Saturday.

The Liberty University product was selected in the fifth round of the 2022 MLB Draft, and finished last year as the No. 26 prospect in Toronto's system, per MLB Pipeline.

A career reliever, Fluharty is a control specialist who relies on a cutter and slider to get outs. He had the aforementioned 3.63 ERA in Triple-A last year and shook off a tough August to have a 1.13 ERA in eight innings in September. He limited hitters to a .222 batting average against last year and would be a good complement to Toronto's primarily right-handed bullpen.

Along with Little, Tommy Nance, Zach Pop and Ryan Burr are Fluharty's main competition for the final spot in the bullpen. Jeff Hoffman, Chad Green, Yimi García, Erik Swanson, Nick Sandlin and Yariel Rodriguez seem locked into their spots.

Génesis Cabrera ended up being the lefty who got the most work in Toronto's bullpen last year, and he had a 3.59 ERA in 62 2/3 innings before he was let go as a free agent. Ryan Yarbrough also got some work as a left-handed swingman while the left-handed Tim Mayza struggled (8.03 ERA) in 24 2/3 innings.

Fluharty will contibute to the Blue Jays at some point this season thanks to his success as a southpaw pitcher, but it's not out of the realm of possibility that he could break camp with the team.

Some former Blue Jays who were included in the story were Luis Frías (Guardians), Rowdy Tellez (Mariners) and Kevin Pillar (Rangers).