Injuries plague Blue Jays relievers after long outings in the first half

The Toronto Blue Jays have posted solid bullpen stats (ranked top ten in MLB ERA) this season, despite several injuries. One of which, Nick Sandlin, found himself back on the IL ahead of the All-Star Game after missing significant time earlier in the season as well with a right lat strain.

This time, he’s battling right elbow inflammation. Despite him not playing much due to his injuries, his absence will mark a noticeable blow to the bullpen. In his limited 16 1/3 innings that he has pitched this year, he’s thrown to a solid 2.20 ERA while striking out over 20% of the hitters he’s faced.

It’s not just his injury that’s the problem, though. He joins a list of fellow relievers who are also out of action that includes Yimi Garcia, Ryan Burr, and Paxton Schultz.

Injuries have plagued the team’s bullpen all season. Before Erik Swanson was released, he was also on the IL for a stretch to begin the year. In the modern era of baseball, it’s not uncommon for teams to cycle through tons of bullpen arms, but the Jays appear to be going at an unsustainable rate.

On top of the names above, the list of players who have seen action for the Jays out of the pen is a long one. Tommy Nance, Justin Bruihl, Lazaro Estrada, Robinson Pina, and Mason Fluharty have all made at least one appearance. Concerningly, the list can go on too.

Simply put, the team only has so many options. At the rate they’re going, there’s a slim, but still very real possibility that they run out of MLB-calibre arms to call up with the amount of options that each player has. Injuries can be unavoidable at times, but it feels as if the Jays have run themselves into this mess. They rank fifth in the league for the number of multi-inning appearances by their relievers, with 107. For reference, only nine teams are above 100 so far, with the Detroit Tigers leading the pack with 125.

Not all of the pitchers listed have partaken in a long, multi-inning outing, but a great example is Estrada, who had to go four innings in his pro debut: