As April comes to an end, is Anthony Bass the weak link in the Blue Jays bullpen?

When Anthony Bass was summoned into Sunday's game in the 8th inning with an 8-5 lead on the Seattle Mariners, with another 3-game sweep within reach for the Toronto Blue Jays, fans of the team held their breath. But by the time they exhaled, Bass had surrendered a two-run homer to Cal Raleigh, closing the gap to 8-7, in a game the Jays would go on to lose 10-8 in 11 innings.

This wasn't an isolated incident for Bass this season, as he now sports a dreadful 7.00 ERA with a 1.78 WHIP. He's given up runs in six of his 10 appearances in 2023, and has left fans wondering if it's time to cut bait on Bass.

A look under the hood reveals even more troubling signs, as Baseball Savant stats show a whole lot of blue on Bass's page (that's blue as in 'ice cold').

Bass is giving up a ton of hard contact, as evidenced by his 18th percentile showing in hard hit percentage, and 22nd percentile mark in average exit velocity. Opponents have an expected batting average of .321 off him (yikes), putting him in just the 5th percentile in all of baseball. And on and on it goes.

Bass made headlines earlier this month for his complaint tweets about how a flight attendant forced his pregnant wife to clean up after his kid's popcorn mess before departing a United Airlines flight. He might want to spend more time focusing on the 'pop' of his pitches than his child's snacks.

Bass only exacerbated his situation when he retweeted a controversial right-wing Fox News host's rant coming to his defense for getting the stewardess fired. Fans, in general, seem to have had enough of Bass, on the field, and off it.

Bass was one of the top performers in the Jays' bullpen last season after his acquisition in a trade with the Miami Marlins, posting a 1.75 ERA in 28 appearances. So perhaps he is salvageable. But before he can help the Jays by cleaning up the mess he inherits on the field, he might consider cleaning up his mess off it.