3 reasons you should worry about the Blue Jays bullpen, and 3 reasons you shouldn’t

Three Reasons You Shouldn’t Worry About the Blue Jays Bullpen

No. 3: The team's closer

Yes, saves have been devalued in today’s game, but there is still a level of comfort that comes from having a colossus at the back end of the pen you know you’re turning the ball over to in the ninth inning with a lead. Few teams in baseball are going to be more comfortable in this situation than the Jays.

For the last three years, Jordan Romano has been dominant, posting ERAs of 2.11, 2.14, and 1.23, while converting 90% of his save opportunities. Plus, it’s hard to deny that the guy just looks like a closer …

No. 2: The amount of bullpen depth in the minors should alleviate some worry

While FanGraphs projected the Jays to have the 13th best bullpen in baseball, they did assert, “what this group lacks in premium relief arms, they make up for in depth.”

It’s true that the Jays bullpen does contain a plethora of good-but-not-great veteran arms which provide a variety of different looks. But it’s more than that. The baseball season is a marathon, and you’re not just going to need the seven or eight relievers you start the season with. Here, the Jays are better situated than most.

Down on the farm, they have veterans who have succeeded in the big leagues before in Luke Bard and Paul Fry, young guns knocking on the door in Nate Pearson and Yosver Zulueta, and high-upside flamethrowers in Junior and Julian Fernández, not to mention low-upside swingman Trent Thornton.

Further, they can expect high-leverage reliever Chad Green to return from injury at some point this year, as well as Mitch White and Hyun-jin Ryu, who could either act as long men or push someone else into the pen if they start.

And hey, we haven’t even mentioned super-prospect Ricky Tiedemann …

Simply, the Jays are well-positioned to weather the inevitable storms which affect any bullpen over the course of a long season.