One clear difference is fueling Blue Jays' improved start vs. 2024

The Toronto Blue Jays had a clear focus this offseason of upgrading the bullpen and making sure it didn’t hold the team back like it did in 2024. As the team approaches the 60-game mark of the season, a direct comparison shows that the bullpen has done it’s part.

A 3.47 bullpen ERA is a far superior number compared to their 4.56-mark last season. The bullpen has put up some of the best numbers in baseball in late game situations all season, accumulating 254 strikeouts (2nd) a .208 batting average against (1st ) while allowing just 80 runs in the seventh inning in a game or later (11th in the league).

One clear difference is fueling Blue Jays' improved start vs. 2024

Last year the Blue Jays bullpen couldn’t keep runs off the board. Closer Jordan Romano was sporting a 6.59 ERA through his first 13+ innings. The rest of the ‘pen wasn’t fairing any better with Tim Mayza (5.21 ERA, 19 IP), Génesis Cabrera (4.43 ERA, 22.1 IP), Nate Pearson (4.03, 22.1 IP), and Erik Swanson (9.22, 13.2 IP) routinely giving up runs when they were called upon.

What’s helped this year’s production were the offseason moves by the front office to bring back Yimi Garcia, sign Jeff Hoffman, and trading for Nick Sandlin. They’ve also had some impressive improvements from the internal compliment which includes Yariel Rodriguez, Brendon Little, Chad Green, Mason Fluharty and Braydon Fisher.

Only two of the players listed have ERA’s above 4.00 and that’s Hoffman and Fisher. Hoffman’s ERA looks bloated due to three poor outings in the span of a week. Between May 6-13 he appeared in five games in which he gave up 11 runs in three innings. Outside of that stretch he’s allowed just six runs in 21 games. He’s also set a new career high and leads the league with 22 games finished this season.

Fisher’s ERA skyrocketed after his last outing. He was given the ball to start the game on Sunday in a Blue Jays bullpen day and it didn’t go well for the rookie right-hander who allowed five runs and only managed to get four outs. That outing pushed his ERA to 4.66 – but were the first runs he had given up in his career. Before that outing Fisher’s debut with the Blue Jays couldn’t have gone any better. He had 12 strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings pitched with just one walk, giving up just three hits in the process.   

In 2024, the teams with the six best bullpen ERA’s were all playoff teams, which bodes well for the Blue Jays aspirations to return to the postseason.