Toronto
fromBlueJaysNation
2 days agoThe Blue Jays risk overworking their bullpen early in the season
The Toronto Blue Jays are facing a potential overuse of their bullpen due to injuries among starting pitchers.
The hard-throwing righty has suffered a number of maladies over his career, most recently last summer when he was limited to just 10 2/3 innings with Kansas City with a right teres major strain and later, an adductor injury. But when healthy, Harvey throws in the upper-90s with a nasty splitter and can be a high-end bullpen arm. Paired with Daniel Palencia (who is also pitching in the WBC),
Bassitt was his usual reliable self as a starting pitcher last season, recording a 3.96 ERA and 166 strikeouts across 170 ⅓ innings pitched. He made at least 30 starts for the fourth straight year despite landing on the injured list at the end of September. The 36-year-old returned from his injury as a reliever in the ALCS before becoming one of the Blue Jays' most trusted weapons in the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Fairbanks racked up 75 saves over the past three seasons. He's been Cash's go-to stopper when healthy. The right-hander ranks third in franchise history with 90 saves. He would have almost certainly passed Colome (95) and Roberto Hernandez (101) had he remained with the organization for another year. Instead, Tampa Bay declined Fairbanks' $11MM option and allowed him to hit free agency. He signed a one-year, $13MM deal with the Marlins on Christmas Eve.
Dominguez pitched to a very nice .230 batting average against in high leverage situations last year, allowing just one home run while racking up 29 strikeouts and eight walks in 83 high leverage plate appearances. He also held hitters to a .186 batting average against with runners in scoring position with 30 strikeouts in 85 plate appearances. However, the frustrations with Dominguez lied in his control.
The 2026 Los Angeles Dodgers are shaping up to be a powerhouse once again, having added some key pieces to their roster during the offseason. While the additions they've made have supplemented the team well, Dodgers Nation decided to ask fans which former Dodger they'd most like to add to the roster for the upcoming season during their prime. Our staff proposed several options, and the fans even proposed some of their own.
The Diamondbacks announced they've signed reliever Taylor Clarke to a one-year contract. They designated right-hander Gus Varland for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster. The club did not announce salary terms for Clarke, who is represented by the Ballengee Group. Clarke should be a familiar name to Arizona fans. The Snakes selected him out of the College of Charleston as a third-round pick in 2015. He debuted in a swing role four years later and spent parts of three seasons with the MLB club.
It was so long ago, but Fluharty had a terrific start to his big league career. Over his first 18.1 innings pitched, the lefty had a 1.96 ERA and 2.97 FIP, with a 26.2 K% and 7.7 BB%. After a few outings in June, Fluharty began to struggle on Jun. 8. From that date until Jun. 30, the final game he pitched in before he was optioned, Fluharty gave up 12 earned runs in 7.1 innings pitched.
Leaning toward the trade market rather than free agency is due to a desire to create some roster flexibility that the current group lacks. None of Carlos Estevez, Matt Strahm, John Schreiber, or Bailey Falter can be optioned to Triple-A. Lucas Erceg has a full slate of options but isn't going to be sent down, given his status as one of the team's top bullpen arms. Daniel Lynch IV and offseason signee are the only relievers who could plausibly be optioned right now.
The 32-year-old sidearmer is looking to rebound from three straight injury-marred seasons. A Tommy John surgery entirely wiped out Effross' 2023 campaign, and a back surgery during that TJ rehab period kept Effross out of any game action until June 2024, and he ended up tossing 35 1/3 minor league innings that season as well as 3 1/3 MLB frames with the Yankees. During Spring Training 2025, Effross then suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain that led to three more months on the shelf, and he amassed only 10 2/3 innings for New York while being frequently shuffled up and down from the minors.