Blue Jays Face Key Decisions in Rebuilding Their Bullpen
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It is possible that I am being too optimistic about this, but I still believe that, even without getting all their injured starting rotation arms back, the Toronto Blue Jays can find success if they manage to focus on strengthening their bullpen.
That, of course, involves the challenge of finding a way again for the available arms to get through the path to reach Tyler Rogers and Louis Varland in the final two innings.
Toronto recorded 52 saves in the 2026 season, and 67% of them were Varland’s 35. But there is an important point here, and that is, we cannot forget how the plan began.
Varland did not get the opportunity to close games until late April, after several inconsistent outings by Jeff Hoffman, who ended up being traded to the Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline.
That was how Varland’s impressive season began, as he finished the campaign leading the entire league among qualified relievers with a 1.27 ERA, and ranked second in fWAR with 3.1, just behind San Diego Padres closer Mason Miller (3.7).
The Blue Jays’ bullpen combined for 4.8 fWAR, but without Varland, the remaining 32 pitchers who accumulated a total of 535 innings could only record 1.7 fWAR.
Spencer Miles (1.5) and Tyler Rogers (1.1) were the other two most consistent relievers, without leaving out left-hander Mason Fluharty, who led the team with 79 relief appearances and ranked second in the entire league, just behind New York Yankees left-hander Brent Headrick (81).
They were the main core of a bullpen that was exposed to trying several options, but the reality was that most of them turned out to be disastrous.
What Internal Options Do the Blue Jays Have To Improve Their Bullpen?
Simeon Woods Richardson (-0.1 fWAR), Paul Sewald (0.1), Spencer Arrighetti (-0.3), Michael Lorenzen (-0.3), Patrick Corbin (-0.1), and Yariel Rodriguez (-0.2) are part of the group of pitchers Toronto tried during the season, but it is unlikely that all of them will get opportunities again.
Woods Richardson was designated for assignment on August 28. Lorenzen, who was used as a starter, also ended up being designated for assignment in September, rejected an assignment to the minors, and therefore became a free agent.
Yariel Rodriguez was never able to recover and was designated for assignment in June. That leaves us taking a look at two veterans, Corbin and Sewald.
Corbin, 37, began in the starting rotation and ended up on the injured list with a left teres major strain. Sewald, 36, had an interesting stint with Toronto after losing his job with the Arizona Diamondbacks. However, his 0.63 ERA in 17 appearances with the Blue Jays left some questions about how much he could contribute in the future.
Now, the problem here is that both Corbin and Sewald will be free agents at the end of the season. Both have experience and, if Toronto decides to offer them an opportunity, it is almost certain that they will not have many offers given Corbin’s injury history and Sewald’s drop in fWAR to –0.5 in 2026, despite recording 24 saves for the Diamondbacks.
If we are guided by the moves the Blue Jays have made and their confidence—sometimes extreme—that they can improve certain things in experienced pitchers who are going through difficulties, I would not be surprised to see Corbin and Sewald receiving a modest offer to return, probably a minor league contract.
I suspect that, if Toronto is not interested in Corbin, he could still find a job in the bullpen because he still has a great ability to dominate left-handed hitters. In the 2026 season, he allowed just one home run and an OPS of only .650 against lefties, with a 5.0 K/BB rate that collapsed to 1.9 against righties.
When it comes to contact, left-handed hitters produce 9.8% less contact against Corbin’s pitches in the strike zone compared with his numbers against righties.
The sample was only 99 batters faced, but Corbin had the best xFIP (2.90) of all left-handed pitchers against same-handed hitters on Toronto’s staff last year, ahead of Joe Mantiply (54 BF, 3.11), Brendon Little (62, 3.44), and Mason Fluharty (138, 3.75).
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Yirsandy is a baseball writer specializing in MLB coverage with experience across multiple teams and storylines. He currently writes for Diamond Centric, where he covers the New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, and Kansas City Royals. My work focuses on game coverage, player analysis, and storytelling that connects performance with context. My Substack has also been an important part of my writing development, where I’ve built much of my baseball coverage and storytelling voice over time. I’m passionate about combining reporting, research, and thoughtful analysis to produce engaging baseball content for readers.
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