Danny Coulombe Would Perfectly Finalize the Blue Jays’ Bullpen

The Toronto Blue Jays have had an eventful and successful offseason thus far, signing several strong free agents and adding to their AL Pennant-winning roster.

They’ve improved their lineup by adding Japanese superstar Kazuma Okamoto, their rotation has improved by signing the likes of Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce, and their bullpen has enjoyed the addition of Tyler Rogers.

Their bullpen still shows some signs of uncertainty, with rookies and relatively unproven arms poised to play big roles in the team’s success in 2026 and beyond.

The Jays still have a very strong bullpen on paper, but there’s one spot that could be improved upon: impact left-handers. Toronto has a few left-handed relievers, but they could certainly use a more established southpaw to bolster their pitching staff.

Danny Coulombe is still a free agent as the offseason rolls into February, and he may be one of the most underrated arms still left on the market. He’s been among the best at getting hitters out over the last few seasons, and he’s certainly one of the most important players left in free agency that can make a big impact in 2026 and beyond.

Current Lefty Options

In the Blue Jays’ current bullpen picture, there are three lefty relievers that can make an immediate impact at the MLB level in 2026: the strikeout artist Brendon Little, the versatile Eric Lauer, and rookie sensation Mason Fluharty.

All three of these pitchers truly proved their value in 2025 and contributed in different ways to the team’s overall success, but in the grand scheme of bullpens, the Jays could improve here.

Little was one of the most hit-or-miss relievers this past season, appearing an AL-leading 79 games while pitching to a 3.03 ERA, 2.92 FIP, and striking out 91 batters. He was one of only two left-handed relievers in 2025 to throw 60+ innings while striking out 90+ batters, the other being Sean Newcomb who equaled Little’s total of 91 strikeouts over 24 more innings of work.

Little has a bit of a control issue, walking 45 batters in his 68.1 innings, by far the most among relievers to pitch in 50+ games. However, he set the Blue Jays single-season strikeout record for left-handed relievers, so there’s not much to complain about there.

Lauer was a jack-of-all-trades for the Jays last season, appearing as both a starter and reliever depending on how his skills were needed.

He pitched 104.2 innings with a 102/26 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a 3.18 ERA. He held oppositions scoreless in nine of his 28 outings last year and played a huge role in the historic Game 3 of the World Series, pitching 4.2 innings of scoreless ball in extra innings.

Lauer will likely be relinquished to having a long-relief role in 2026 due to the Jays’ signings of Cease and Ponce, forcing him out of the rotation.

Then there’s Fluharty, who had a season filled with ups and downs, being on the mound for some of the highest and lowest moments of Toronto’s season.

On August 10 against the Los Angeles Dodgers in what would be an early World Series matchup, Fluharty was called upon with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the 9th to secure a one-run lead. He struck out Shohei Ohtani and induced a groundout to get out of the inning, showing that he has the talent to hold an MLB roster spot.

Coulombe’s Established Success

Coulombe, 36, has quietly been one of the most reliable relievers in baseball, posting an ERA below 3.00 in each of the last four years.

In 55 games last year for the Twins and Rangers, Coulombe had a tale of two seasons, putting up a 1.16 ERA in the first half with Minnesota and then falling to 5.25 ERA with the Rangers down the stretch.

He consistently misses bats, as he only allowed a 5.2% barrel rate and got batters to swing at 36.2% of pitches outside of the strike zone. Although Coulombe wasn’t a qualified reliever in 2025, he ranked in the upper echelons of these categories with his five-pitch mix that baffled hitters.

He only allowed a slugging percentage above .310 with one of his pitches (Knuckle Curve) that he only threw 2.8% of the time. The rest of the time, hitters are having a very tough time.

Coulombe’s 57º arm angle could be a standout factor for him on the Jays’ roster, as it would be by far the highest arm slot of any left-hander on the team. Just when you thought the only extremes of arm angles were the comparisons between Trey Yesavage (63º) and Tyler Rogers (-61º), the Blue Jays could throw in the fifth-highest left-handed arm angle in MLB.

He hardly throws 90 mph, but he doesn’t need to because the movement on his pitches does all the work for him. Coulombe was tied for the third-most average vertical drop on his sweeper and was the only pitcher in MLB to have at least 6 RV (Run Value) on his cutter and have a whiff rate of over 31% on the pitch — his cutter whiff rate was 36.4%.

The main risk with Coulombe is a combination of his age and injury history, as he hasn’t ever pitched more than 51.2 innings in a single season, but he still factored into 55 games this past season despite only pitching 43.0 innings. He was one of only five lefty relievers to have an ERA of 2.30 or lower, so he can definitely hold his own even in his veteran years.

Who Could Be Replaced?

In terms of making room for Coulombe, there are multiple options for the Jays to remove a pitcher from the staff to clear a spot for his potential arrival. Toronto has a mix of old and young relievers that might be on the chopping block if a move for Coulombe is to happen.

Young pitchers who enjoyed strong rookie seasons last year include the likes of Braydon Fisher and the aforementioned Fluharty, as Toronto could choose to take a flyer on an established veteran like Coulombe over a young and relatively unproven rookie.

Fisher had some big contributions to the Jays’ success in 2025, posting a 2.70 ERA over 50 innings of work and striking out nearly twice as many batters (62) as he allowed hits (32).

Fisher allowed the fewest hits of any reliever in baseball among pitchers with 50+ appearances aged 25 or younger, and he placed 10th in AL Rookie of the Year voting last season. Suffice to say, it wouldn’t be a great choice to replace him on the Jays’ roster, but if they do choose to go down this route, it would open the door to swapping Fisher for a high-value player or trade package.

Another route the Jays could go down is replacing Yimi García, who is primed to return early in 2026 from an elbow surgery and pitching his last regular season game on July 2.

García is still a very effective reliever and has been very valuable for the Jays, who have acquired him two separate times in recent years. However, it might be time to move on from an oft-injured García and replace him with another solid arm.

Whoever the Blue Jays would decide to replace with Coulombe, the move would likely be a strong one, as his value as a high-leverage lefty brings yet another lethal weapon to an already intimidating bullpen and overall roster in Toronto.

Closing Thoughts

Danny Coulombe is one of the best relief options remaining on the free-agent market, and the Toronto Blue Jays could scoop him up and make their team even scarier.

Their bullpen was incredibly important down the stretch in 2025 and played a big role in their AL Pennant win last year. While they’ve already made one move to improve it, there could be more on the way.

The Jays completely rebuilt their bullpen last season, and while there isn’t as much work needing to be done heading into the 2026 season, there’s still some ways they can improve. You can never be satisfied until you’ve won it all, so they could very well still be on the hunt.

Even if they don’t take a flyer on the veteran lefty, the Jays will still be a force to be reckoned with by any team in MLB — there’s no doubt about it. Coulombe brings another dimension of experience and prowess to whatever team is willing to apply for his services, and the Blue Jays could seriously benefit from his pitch mix and ability to miss barrels.