Blue Jays Enjoying Trevor Richards Asserting Himself

When the Toronto Blue Jays traded Rowdy Tellez to the Brewers for Bowden Francis and Trevor Richards, it was one of those deals where you just have to say, “OK.” and then move on. It certainly wasn’t a splash so much as an attempt to add pitching depth. Since then, Richards has had an up and down tenure in Toronto. Now, in 2023, he may have found his groove.

Richards broke into the big leagues with Miami in 2018 where he started 25 games at the age of 25. That year, he put up  4.42 ERA (4.05 FIP) and 1.3 fWAR. It was a decent start to his career. The following year would see him make 23 starts, splitting time with Miami and Tampa Bay. He made 3 starts in 2019 for the Rays and put up an ERA of 1.93.

The success wasn’t long lived, unfortunately, as his 2020 season resulted in a 5.91 ERA and then he went to the Brewers the following season after putting up a 4.50 ERA in Tampa. No longer a starter, he pitched well enough (3.20 ERA) in Milwaukee for Toronto to take notice and bring him aboard, where he finished the season with a 3.31 ERA in 32.2 IP. He was definitely in the mix to return to the Blue Jays’ bullpen in 2022.

2022 wasn’t much better for Richards as he threw up an ERA of 5.34 in 64 innings. He did make 4 starts as Toronto tried to leverage his versatility. It was the versatility and the ability to collect strike outs – is K% in 2021 was 31.1% and 29.2% in 2022 – that had the Blue Jays interested in his arm for different roles on the team. But, the overall success wasn’t as anyone had hoped.

He put up a career low LOB% of 64.7% and his BB/9 was nearly 5. That’s not a recipe for success. Sure, his FIP (4.07) and his xFIP (4.00) painted a picture of a pitcher who deserved better, but at the end of the day, he hadn’t instilled much confidence. It is why, when the season began, he would not have been very high on the Doyle Bullpen Depth Charts…if there were such a thing.

However, the point of this piece is really to talk about how Trevor Richards has asserted himself on that list and, more importantly, on Toronto’s.

Somewhat quietly, Richards is putting together a nice season. What really caused me to take notice was his efforts on Saturday as an Opener. In 3.1 innings, he managed to strike out 7 batters. He did walk a batter and gave up a hit. Not that this means a whole lot, but it is somewhat amusing to note that his FIP for the outing was -0.39. You don’t see that too often.

As I said, this outing made me take notice and when I did, I looked a little more and liked what I found. Obviously, his 2023 sample is just 30 innings and shouldn’t be taken as the be all, end all, but he’s been rather impressive. HE’s got a 3.30 ERA, a 3.77 FIP and an xFIP of 3.29. His K% is 38.9%, WHIP is 1.17, LOB% is 83.3% and opponents are hitting just .191 against him. I’ll take those numbers, thanks! Yes, there are some knocks against him. For example, his BB/9 is still over 4, but more than that, he is still susceptible to the long ball. He’s allowing 1.50 HR/9 and a HR/FB% of 15.6%. But, overall, you can’t ask for much more from Trevor Richards.

None of this is to suggest that the Blue Jays change his role based on is surprising success. It would be easy to say, ‘Maybe he should start in Alek Manoah‘s spot’ or ‘Maybe he should be given more high leverage innings’. No, those are maybes that shouldn’t be considered. Instead, the Blue Jays should continue using him as they have. Let him go multiple innings if needed, but only if needed. Most of the time we think that guys perform better with a defined role. Well, flexibility is key to Richards’ role on this team.

Trevor Richards has asserted himself in the Blue Jays’ bullpen. He’s having a good season. He does have some dents in the armour, but those aren’t derailing what has become a pleasant surprise. Historically, Richards hasn’t been this effective, but maybe he’s found something that’s working for him. Maybe this will last. Besides, history never repeats itself…