Why this Blue Jay is poised for a breakout season

A year ago, Yariel Rodríguez entered the regular season as one of the most important players on the Blue Jays' roster.

A Cuban right-handed pitcher who starred overseas in Japan in Nippon Professional Baseball, Rodríguez signed a four-year, $32 million contract with Toronto in the hopes of being a leader in the starting rotation.

And while Rodríguez has a down year last year, he's still poised to be an important player this season — just in a different way.

Yariel Rodríguez could end up being one of the most important Blue Jays this season

As mentioned above, Rodríguez signed a four-year contract with the Blue Jays ahead of the 2024 season and went 1-8 with a 4.47 ERA in 86 2/3 innings in his first year in Toronto where he worked exclusively as a starter.

He failed to go more than four innings in any of his four April starts before being placed on the injured list at the end of April due to thoracic spine inflammation. He returned in June and made two truncated starts before having a strong July (3.13 ERA in 23 innings) that had all of Toronto dreaming about his potential.

Those dreams turned to nightmares as the season went on, as he had a 4.70 ERA over his final 10 starts.

That lack of success led to some to hypothesize that Rodríguez's future could be in the bullpen. And now, after a month of spring training, it seems like that could be the case.

As of now, Rodríguez's is the odd man out of a starting rotation seems that will likely consist of Chris Bassitt, Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Max Scherzer and Bowden Francis.

But just because Rodríguez's in the bullpen doesn't mean that he wouldn't be able to make an impact.

First off, he has experiencing working in relief. He spent the entirety of his career in NPB as a reliever, where he posted a 1.15 ERA in 54 2/3 innings.

Secondly, he seems like the kind of pitcher who would benefit from the tightened focus that comes with working out of the bullpen. He could tighten his pitch mix (he limited hitters to a. 213 average on his sinker and .167 average on his slider last year), and would also be able to put a little more on his fastball.

He also has the makeup that would allow for him to succeed out of the bullpen. He has experience as a closer in Japan, but also has ability to work as a long swingman if needed. And they could use both thanks to Erik Swanson's injury.

While Swanson primarily worked as a one-inning reliever, he was poised to become the first reliever out of the bullpen in the middle innings of a close game ahead of Chad Green, Jeff Hoffman and Yimi García.

Dillon Tate likely fits into that picture too, but Swanson's injury provides a lot more runway for Rodríguez to make an impact for the Blue Jays this season (which is important considering he can't be sent down to the minors without his consent).

And if that wasn't enough, he also provides valuable insurance in the case of an injury in the rotation.

“We’ll see,” manager John Schneider said last week when asked if Rodríguez could start the year in the bullpen. “Things change every day, it seems like. But keeping the length is definitely a priority for us with him, knowing that we can shorten him up if needed. But for right now, we’re treating him as a starter, and we’ll see where we are probably in the next week or so.”

But, regardless of where Rodríguez starts the year, it's clear he'll be an important Blue Jay in what will be an incredibly important season.