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Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins says bullpen overhaul must be creative

Originally posted on Bluejaysnation | By Thomas Hall | Last updated Nov 6, 2024 11:00 AM ET

Needless to say, the Toronto Blue Jays have their work cut out for them as the front office aims to rebuild one of the worst bullpens in baseball from the 2024 season.

With several holes to fill, perhaps as many as five or six, plenty of new faces will be added to the club’s bullpen between now and the start of spring training next year. But that isn’t the only area of need, as they’ll also need to acquire at least one impact bat and fortify the starting rotation. Checking off all those boxes presents a massive challenge for management.

As such, the Blue Jays will need to be creative while overhauling next season’s reliever corps, general manager Ross Atkins told reporters Tuesday in San Antonio, Texas, at the annual GM Meetings. That means they’ll likely explore free agency and the trade market for impact relief pitchers this winter.

GM Ross Atkins: We’re going to have to be creative to build a bullpen.

Comforting.#BlueJays

— Alex Seixeiro (@AlexSeixeiro) November 5, 2024

Toronto appeared to have four bullpen holes that required filling entering this off-season. But that number rose to five earlier this week after left-hander Génesis Cabrera cleared waivers and elected free agency, saving the team a projected $2.5 million in arbitration per MLB Trade Rumors’ projections.

Now, three of the eight bullpen spots available are occupied by closer Jordan Romano ($7.75 million projected in ARB), Erik Swanson ($3.2 million projected in ARB) and Chad Green (guaranteed $10.5 million). However, the Blue Jays could save approximately $11 million by non-tendering those first two by the Nov. 22 deadline.

As currently constructed, Toronto’s competitive balance tax (CBT) payroll for next season sits at approximately $211.1 million, according to FanGraphs’ Roster Resource, roughly $30 million below the initial luxury tax threshold of $241 million.

That doesn’t leave much breathing room for Atkins to work with, especially considering the amount of roster spots he must fill this off-season. Thus, the team may need to turn some of their young, controllable position players — like Addison Barger, Leo Jiménez and Spencer Horwitz, for example — into pitching acquisitions via trade.

Last season, the Blue Jays’ bullpen ranked 29th in reliever’s ERA (4.82) and strikeouts (502) and 30th in FIP (4.84), HR/9 (1.46) and fWAR (-2.5) throughout the majors.

This article first appeared on Bluejaysnation and was syndicated with permission.

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