Blue Jays: Ranking the AL East bullpens heading into the season

#4 Baltimore Orioles

Projected Bullpen:

RHP Félix Bautista
RHP Dillon Tate
RHP Mychal Givens
LHP Cionel Pérez
RHP Bryan Baker
LHP Keegan Akin
RHP Tyler Wells
RHP Austin Voth

The Orioles have a solid back-end of the bullpen, led by the team’s closer, Félix Bautista. Bautista was incredibly impressive in his inaugural major league season as he held a 2.19 ERA with 88 strikeouts, with 15 saves across 65.2 innings.

Dillon Tate and Cionel Pérez are likely to be competing for the 8th inning role, as both pitchers also had strong 2022 seasons. Tate managed five saves of his own and a 3.05 ERA, while Perez owned a sparkling 1.40 ERA over 57.2 innings of work.

Mychal Givens, set for his second stint with the O’s has experienced several up and down seasons with several teams, though never providing consistent production.

Former Blue Jay, Bryan Baker had a solid season in 2022 with a 3.49 ERA and was one of the busier relievers for this team.

Tyler Wells and Austin Voth were both mainly used as starting pitchers last season, though have since been moved into long relief roles out of the bullpen. Wells was just okay as a starter with a 4.25 ERA, though Voth’s 3.04 ERA through 17 starts should set him up as next in line to fill a rotation spot.

Keegan Akin, the hard throwing left-hander, showed great improvements from a 6.63 ERA to 3.20 ERA from 2021 - 2022. The trio of Bautista, Tate and Pérez will be tasked with working in the bulk of the teams’ highest leverage situations as the rest of the bullpen remains rather unreliable, though they are improving. 

#3 New York Yankees

Projected Bullpen:

RHP Clay Holmes
RHP Jonathan Loáisiga
RHP Tommy Kahnle
LHP Wandy Peralta
RHP Lou Trivino
RHP Ron Marinaccio
RHP Albert Abreu
RHP Deivi García

Injured List:

RHP Scott Effross
RHP Michael King

The Yankees have a bunch of capable arms coming out of the pen, led by the team’s closer, Clay Holmes. Holmes had a very unusual season in 2022, as he overtook Aroldis Chapman as the teams closer, and looked like one of the very best relief pitchers in the league at times. After an incredible beginning to the season, he cooled down though he still finished the year with a 2.54 ERA with 20 saves.

Jonathan Loáisiga struggled last season with a career-low 6.9 K/9, after an incredible 2021 campaign.

Tommy Kahnle has only managed to pitch 13.2 innings over the past three seasons due to several injuries. Prior to the injuries, Kahnle was a very reliable reliever with great swing and miss stuff, though his durability is the biggest question.

Lou Trivino struggled mightily while he was with the Athletics, though once traded as a part of the Frankie Montas deal, he was outstanding in a pinstripe uniform, with a 1.66 ERA.

Wandy Peralta and Ron Marinaccio were both pleasant surprises for this team as Peralta experienced a career season after several inconsistent campaigns, and Marinaccio couldn’t really have been better as a rookie with a 2.05 ERA and 11.5 K/9.

Albert Abreu has only pitched in 76.2 major league innings and Deivi García has only made eight appearances, all as a starter.

Both Michael King and Scott Effross will start the season on the injured list, though they were key contributors for this team a season ago. Once fully healthy, this group is solid though the third best in the division. This will not not look like a typical Yankees bullpen.

#2 Toronto Blue Jays

Projected Bullpen:

RHP Yimi García
RHP Anthony Bass
LHP Tim Mayza
RHP Adam Cimber
RHP Trevor Richards
RHP Mitch White
RHP Jordan Romano
RHP Erik Swanson

Injured List:

RHP Chad Green

The Blue Jays bullpen will consist of mostly returning members, although a big piece of this group will be a new acquisition. Erik Swanson’s major league career was off to a rocky start as he struggled through his first three seasons, though he was among the best relief pitchers in the entire league a season ago with the Mariners.

Jordan Romano has grown into one of the most reliable closing pitchers, and was outstanding last season. Notching 36 saves and a 2.11 ERA, Romano is an elite arm who will be tasked with finishing games for the Jays again.

Anthony Bass was also among the league’s best relievers last season with both the Marlins and Blue Jays, combining for a sparkling 1.75 ERA.

Yimi García was very solid in his first season with the club, as his 3.10 ERA was a career best across an entire season.

Adam Cimber has been fantastic since joining the Jays in 2021, as he tied for the most pitching appearances (77) with the Guardians’ closer, Emmanuel Clase.

Tim Mayza, the lone lefty in the bullpen, has also shown improvements in limiting walks allowed over the last two seasons, although the strikeout numbers have decreased.

Trevor Richards and Mitch White both struggled last season, and are the only unreliable pitchers amongst this group. White made eight starts and two appearances out of the bullpen, though showed uninspiring stuff and remains undependable.

Chad Green, the long-time Yankee setup man signed a two-year deal with the team, though is still recovering from Tommy John surgery. Upon his return, this bullpen has a chance to become the best in the division, though the seamlessness and fluidity of the Rays bullpen give them the edge.

#1 Tampa Bay Rays

Projected Bullpen:

RHP Pete Fairbanks
RHP Jason Adam
LHP Jalen Beeks
RHP Shawn Armstrong
LHP Garrett Cleavinger
RHP Ryan Thompson
RHP Kevin Kelly
LHP Colin Poche

Injured List:

RHP Andrew Kittredge

The Rays bullpen is going to look very much like their 2022 group. Aside from Kevin Kelly, who has yet to make his major league debut, the entire staff will return. Jason Adam was the leader of the bullpen last year as he notched eight saves to go with his 1.56 ERA.

Pete Fairbanks was limited to just 24 innings, though he only allowed three earned runs, while also grabbing 8 saves of his own.

Left-handers Jalen Beeks and Garrett Cleavinger both impressed with sub-3 ERA’s and K/9 rates north of 10.

Shawn Armstrong and Ryan Thompson each had similar seasons with 3.60 and 3.80 ERA’s respectively. Both showed good strikeout stuff and limited walks as well.

Colin Poche made his major league comeback after a three year absence, and showed slight improvements in 2022. He is set to take on the long relief role for the upcoming season.

Kevin Kelly was selected by the Rockies in the 2022 Rule 5 Draft, then was immediately traded to the Rays for cash considerations. Kelly has looked good so far though 130.2 minor league innings with a 3.17 ERA across all levels of the minor leagues.

Former closer, Andrew Kittredge is also recovering from Tommy John surgery too. Overall, this bullpen is still rather unproven aside from strong 2022 seasons, though the Rays have been able to throw anyone on the mound and have them succeed recently. This is the best bullpen in the AL East, due to the fact that the majority of their staff has closing experience and have integrated guys seamlessly. Though, predicting how Kevin Cash uses his bullpen is impossible.