4 internal candidates that could fix the Blue Jays bullpen

The Toronto Blue Jays are in a tough place. After just recently snapping a seven-game losing streak, the Jays find themselves in last place in the AL East, with a 36-43 record. There's been plenty of reasons for the teams underperformance, but none may be more unexpected than the struggles of the bullpen. The Jays' 2023 bullpen was one of the their biggest strengths, posting a 3.68 ERA, and 5.1 fWAR, which was tied for 8th in all of MLB.

The Jays had an entire stable of arms to go to late in games, which consistently gave them a chance at winning. Jordan Romano, Erik Swanson, and eventually Jordan Hicks were among the best 1-2-3 punches in the league. Tim Mayza was quietly one of the most effective left-handed relievers in all of baseball as well.

So far in 2024, it has been a disaster for the Jays bullpen. they have a 4.55 ERA and -1.1 fWAR, which is ranked 30th in the entire league. The team has dealt with a wide variety of injured players, along with pitchers that simply can't recreate the magic of last year. Yimi Garcia has been the bright spot for Jays relievers, but is now on the injured list with right elbow neuritis, making an already thin staff much more precarious.

The team is waiting to get their injured players back. That includes Romano, Garcia, and Swanson, after his stint in Triple-A is finished. However, with how unpredictable the current affairs of the bullpen have been so far, the team may consider resorting to other internal options to give them some kind of chance at new life. With the trade deadline just over a month away, the Jays will simply have to bide their time, finding solutions with the options they currently have. Whether there is an immediate fix for the team waiting in the minor leagues or not, the Jays should give some serious consideration to these pitchers to help contribute to their bullpen.

Mason Fluharty

Fluharty's path to the majors is quite simple. If another left-handed reliever is sent down or gets injured, he should be the first guy to receive the call. Fluharty has been having a strong season out of the Buffalo Bisons bullpen, posting a 2.80 ERA in 35.1 innings, with just two home runs allowed in that span. Fluharty is also 22-years old, so opting to go for younger players over the journeymen within their system might be the proper execution going forward. The Jays currently have three left-handed relievers in their bullpen, so it's unlikely that Fluharty would be a fourth, but instead would swap him for one of the others. The Jays have gotten fairly poor production out of their lefties this season. They have a 5.15 ERA, -0.7 fWAR, and 4.4 K-BB%, all of which are ranked dead last in MLB. A fresh arm like Fluharty could be their best course of action, rather than running out the same names from this point on.

Andrew Bash

Bash in an interesting name to consider. He has been the Bisons' most consistent and dependable starter this season. He leads the club in innings pitched (53.2) and strikeouts (53), and has only given up four home runs this season.

Bash uses a four-pitch mix to get hitters out – a four-seam fastball, changeup, slider, and sweeper. Since moving from the bullpen to starting rotation, he has been one of the better success stories that the Jays pitching farm system has had. The Blue Jays could consider calling upon him to help flesh out the current state of the bullpen, and Bash does have professional experience in those spots as well. The team could argue that they don't want to disturb the current developments Bash has been making in the minor leagues, however at 27-years old, this could be Bash's best opportunity to contribute at the major league level.