Mapping out the Blue Jays’ bullpen for the postseason

He wasn’t easy to watch some nights, but Brendon Little bounced back in September and finished his sophomore season even better in 2025. Once the book was out on his knuckle curve, he worked a cutter back into his repertoire and neutralized both right-handers and left-handers equally.

If a tough left-handed hitter is coming up in a late-game situation for the Blue Jays, you can bet Little is probably going to get the ball in that instance.

Like many others on this list, Louis Varland‘s first and second halves were like night and day, sporting a 1.81 ERA in the first half and a 4.82 ERA in the second half. Varland didn’t look sharp in August, but he battled back and posted a strong September, one of his last appearances being as the opener for the bullpen game on September 25 against the Rays.

Despite his ability to touch 100 MPH, Varland tends to get knocked around a lot, so don’t expect him to be brought into situations where there are runners on base. With a clean inning, he has a little bit of wiggle room, but asking him to strand runners is a tough task.

And now we’re down to the rookies, Braydon Fisher and Mason Fluharty. It says a lot that both guys weren’t just entrusted in big spots during the regular season; they thrived. Fluharty’s 1.1 innings of shutout relief in the division-clinching game and Fisher’s scoreless appearance helped seal the deal for the Blue Jays, like they did many games before.

With the way Fluharty has been missing bats as of late, I imagine he might be the first guy out of the bullpen in postseason games once the starting pitcher has been removed. His delivery is such a stark contrast from anything on the Blue Jays’ pitching staff that it gives Fluharty an edge when opposing hitters have seen the same delivery for two or three ABs.

Although the Blue Jays demoted Fisher to Triple-A in late August, it wasn’t performance-based based and he was merely a victim of the numbers game. Fisher stormed back in early September and closed off a campaign that was arguably the best by a Blue Jays reliever in 2025.

Fisher isn’t a power pitcher and instead relies on his breaking ball and off-speed pitches, so Schneider will need to be a little more intentional about where and how he deploys Fisher out of the bullpen. He was especially tough on left-handed hitters this year, so that’s another toy in the Blue Jays’ toy chest.

The wildcard: Trey Yesavage

It’s wild that a 22-year-old who started his season in Single-A has already elevated himself into the conversation of a playoff roster, yet here we are with young phenom Trey Yesavage. Had the Blue Jays not clinched the AL East, he would likely start a potential game in the AL Wild Card series, but that’s a moot point now.

In a scenario where Bassitt is back in the rotation, that may bump Yesavage to the bullpen, which wouldn’t be a bad thing. In fact, that might be the best spot for him. Keeping him in the Blue Jays’ back pocket as either a piggyback or bulk guy out of the bullpen would do wonders for the Blue Jays.

Yesavage pitched in relief and started this season in the minors, so he’s no stranger to flipping back and forth. I think if the Jays roll the dice and give Max Scherzer a chance to start, that takes Yesavage out of the rotation. Instead, he could be a nuclear weapon for Toronto in relief.

The “probably” guys: Yariel Rodriguez, Eric Lauer

Maybe the Blue Jays have been careful about how they use Yariel Rodriguez is his first full year back as a relief pitcher, but isn’t it odd how few and far between his appearances have been as of late? He pitched in only two games last week during a critical stretch for the Blue Jays.

Especially in a short series like an ALDS, the Blue Jays need all hands on deck, and if Rodriguez is a guy who can only make two or three appearances, might his spot be saved for someone who can take the ball instead?

Eric Lauer carved out a role as a reliable starting pitcher earlier this season, but his last handful of appearances may have tipped the Blue Jays’ hand as to how they plan to utilize Lauer in the playoffs. He was electric in that bullpen day game last Thursday against the Red Sox, then secured the final out of the clinching game against the Rays on Sunday.

Not that things are lining up for the Blue Jays to have a bullpen day in the playoffs, but if they do, Lauer would be integral to an outing like that. Lauer is effective against lefties and righties, so he can toss multiple innings of relief or a short stint, which makes him the Swiss Army knife of Toronto’s bullpen.

On the bubble: Tommy Nance, Justin Bruihl, Paxton Schultz, Dillon Tate

Ideally, in the postseason, a team shouldn’t need a mop-up guy on the roster to soak up multiple innings, but occasionally, pitchers like Tommy Nance are good insurance policies to carry around just in case. His role on the playoff roster may hinge on what happens with Chris Bassitt, who figures to return to the roster for the ALDS series.

With Lauer likely already occupying the multi-inning reliever role, Nance might be a little redundant in a bullpen that already has somebody in that role. If there are four starting pitchers joining the ALDS roster, that leaves room for only nine relievers on the roster.

The same goes for Justin Bruihl, Paxton Schultz and Dillon Tate. Aside from Bruihl, who is mostly just a lefty-specialist, every other player in this subset can throw multiple innings in relief. It may be matchup dependent, so who the Blue Jays pick out of this quartet may be determined by which opponent they’re facing, but it’s splitting hairs.