Blue Jays Opening Day roster prediction 1.0

Bullpen (8)

Closer: Jordan Romano

Coming off his first All-Star selection, Romano will open the season as the closer for the Jays and look to continue his dominance from last year.

Setup: Erik Swanson

The biggest piece coming back for Teoscar Hernández, Swanson is looking to build off of a breakout season last year. He will be relied on to pitch high leverage innings for the Jays this year, and hopefully we see another productive year in a much improved Jays bullpen. He also negates the need for another lefty in the pen, as his splits show left-handed hitters struggle against him more than righties.

Setup: Anthony Bass

After coming (back) over midseason last year, Bass will look to have another solid season in the latter half of his career. The former Wayne State product is coming off a 2.7 WAR season between the Marlins and Jays.

Setup: Yimi García

A quietly very good season last year, García should continue to be given high leverage innings this season. A steady presence in the bullpen, there's reason to believe he will continue to put up solid performances for the Jays in the coming season.

Middle relief: Tim Mayza

The lone lefty projected to make the team, his splits are more dramatic than initially expected. A .504 OPS against lefties compared to an .818 clip against righties, Mayza will be an asset against left-handed hitters in 2023.

Middle relief: Adam Cimber

The unsung hero of the bullpen, Cimber just goes out there and does his job. Eclipsing 70 innings each of the last two years, he continues to be one of the more dependable relievers the Jays have seen in their franchise's history.

Middle relief: Nate Pearson

A somewhat bold pick, Pearson will impress during Spring Training en route to breaking camp with the team. Let's say he does enough to take Trevor Richards’ spot for 2023. The sky's the limit for Pearson, at least as a reliever. A fastball in the upper 90s and a wipeout slider, paired with an impressive showing in the Winter League, look for big things from him this year.

Long relief: Mitch White

It'll be interesting to see Mitch White this year, working with a clean slate and more comfortability from starting his season with the Blue Jays. Since Kikuchi starts off in the rotation, White will take the bulk innings out of the Blue Jays bullpen and will be the club's sixth starter.