Blue Jays Sign Another Experienced Veteran to Add More Bullpen Depth
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The Toronto Blue Jays have made another move to address their bullpen depth, and with spring training now fully underway, numerous guys are going to get their chance to impress.
On Saturday morning, the team announced via social media that they had agreed to terms on a minor league deal with veteran right-hander Jesse Hahn, which includes an invitation to camp, giving Hahn a chance to prove he belongs on the big league roster.
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The deal for Hahn comes just days after bringing in left-hander Josh Fleming -- a fellow veteran with big league experience -- on a similar agreement that also included an invitation to spring training to compete for a roster spot.
A day after general manager Ross Atkins talked about being open to creatively building the roster, it seems that is certainly the direction he is taking by trying to find diamonds in the rough.
Blue Jays Have Some Intriguing Bullpen Options in Camp
Ironically, it was the bullpen that was so key in getting Toronto as far as they did last October, and ultimately that same bullpen was their undoing with two outs in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the World Series.
Signing someone like Tyler Rogers along with a trade for Chase Lee shook some things up this winter, but as is the case for just about every club in baseball, names will emerge in the bullpen that nobody sees coming.
Perhaps Hahn is capable of being one of them, bringing in a wealth of big league experience to the club following a couple of years of largely pitching at the Triple-A level.
Hahn Could Make Push for Blue Jays Roster
Though he has made just three big league appearances since 2021, Hahn battled back to Major League Baseball with three appearances for the Seattle Mariners this past season following a couple of decent years in Triple-A.
The 36-year-old has made 85 MLB appearances throughout his career, 50 of them being starts. While he has not started a game since 2017, perhaps a swingman role could be in the cards should Toronto deal with inevitable injuries and need to get creative.
Overall, he boasts a 4.24 ERA, 1.353 WHIP, and 1.8 bWAR across 316.1 innings during his time with the Mariners, Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, and San Diego Padres. Whether or not he has a chance to make the roster likely depends a bit on how things break in camp.
Clearly though, the Blue Jays are placing an emphasis on securing bullpen help, and Hahn is just the latest example.
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Michael Brauner is a 2022 graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Sports Media. He covers various MLB teams across the On SI network and you can also find his work on Yellowhammer News covering the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers as well as on the radio producing and co-hosting 'The Opening Kickoff' every weekday morning on 105.5 WNSP FM in Mobile, Alabama.