The Blue Jays need to address some of the weak links in the bullpen before it's too late

The state of the Toronto Blue Jays bullpen has been a hot topic of discussion throughout the last few seasons.

The hot-and-cold nature of the unit has been a sore spot for Jays fans for quite a while now, and despite efforts to upgrade the relief corps, there are still potential moves to be made.

With Yimi García and Anthony Bass struggling to consistently get outs and help the team, here are some solutions that could be considered.

García was a vital piece of the bullpen but should be considered expendable due to his ineffectiveness. His ERA nearly doubled from the previous year (5.96, up from 3.10) had a sizable increase in WHIP (1.54, up from 1.04), and has had his opponent's batting average go from .258 in 2022 to a current mark of .348.

That precipitous fall from grace has caused the veteran to see only low-leverage assignments. His clean inning during Monday's blowout loss to the Houston Astros was one bright spot That marked an improvement over a recent three-game stretch, during which he gave up seven earned runs.

It may be time to move on from Garcia. Fortunately, the Blue Jays have some intriguing replacements in-house.

Hagen Danner’s overall numbers don’t scream an obvious call-up candidate. He’s 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA, but he also has 25 strikeouts in just 13.1 innings, an average of almost two per frame.

The 24-year-old has been promoted twice this season, starting at Single-A Dunedin, pitching eight games with the New Hampshire Fisher-Cats before joining the Buffalo Bisons in late May.

Since the latest promotion, Danner has gotten into a pair of games and has allowed four earned runs, so he may need a little fine-tuning before getting the call to the show, but the former catcher is poised to make his big-league debut sooner than later.

Zach Pop is on track to return to the Jays' bullpen in the coming days, and it could be as a countermove to Anthony Bass being released. The two came over from Miami last trade deadline, and as promising as Pop has looked at times, the season has been a nightmare for Bass.

The United Airlines Twitter storm, the homophobic Instagram post, and the shakiness of his appearances should result in his release, but that has yet to come to fruition.

While it may have made sense to pull the trigger on that move immediately after the controversy, the team needs to ensure they have a player worthy of a roster spot before moving on.