The Toronto Blue Jays bullpen has been one of the season’s lowest-ranked relief groups in the big leagues. What was a solid core group of arms last season has spiralled into a 28th-ranked 4.95 ERA and a squad that has allowed opponents to hit a .254 average, tied for second last with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Kansas City Royals. While not every reliever is experiencing their fair of struggles, there are quite a few arms that are still struggling to right the ship and one of those arms is right-hander Erik Swanson.

Acquired during the 2022/2023 offseason as part of the Teoscar Hernandez trade, Swanson was one of the key go-to relievers in the Blue Jays bullpen last year but has fallen on hard times in 2024. He experienced a late ramp-up in Spring Training when an unfortunate accident involving his son (who thankfully is ok) saw him miss some time away from the field and then the 30-year-old began the season on the IL with right forearm inflammation that saw him off the field until mid-April.

Since rejoining Toronto, Swanson has been a shade of his former self and the veteran hurler owns a 9.22 ERA through 17 appearances and 13 2/3 innings. He has allowed 20 hits and 14 earned runs through that span, as well as five home runs while striking out just ten batters. Opponents currently own a .323 average on the right-hander and Swanson has amassed a 1.76 WHIP so far this season. He has allowed earned runs in eight of his 17 outings and while he was on a recent solid stretch heading into today, five innings with just three hits allowed, the North Dakota product was pulled in the eighth inning in favour of Zach Pop after recording just one out while allowing a solo home run and a single.

Simply put, Swanson is just not fooling hitters with the fastball/split finger combo, with his off-speed pitch currently running with a -7 run value (before today’s outing against Chicago). Opponents have authored a .962 SLG on his split-finger pitch and he has seen almost a 9% decrease in his whiff percentage when compared to last season (although this season is of a smaller sample size). His movements both vertically and horizontally are similar to last year’s values but he keeps putting the ball over too much of the plate, which hitters have been capitalizing on this season.

Looking ahead, the Toronto Blue Jays have some tough decisions to make in the near future. Bowden Francis, Yariel Rodríguez, and Chad Green are all rehabbing in triple-A and should be available soon given their current pitching trends, meaning the Blue Jays need to send some pitchers down should they wish to have all three return.

It’s not a given that all three will be back, as Rodríguez or Francis may stay behind to work out of the rotation and provide some depth within the system, but it would be a rather safe bet that at least Green and one of those arms is guaranteed to come back to the Blue Jays sooner rather than later.

The Blue Jays have Nate Pearson, Alek Manoah, and Zach Pop in the big leagues as the corresponding moves to the three currently in triple-A and as of right now, Manoah isn’t going anywhere given his current trend in the rotation.

The club could option Pearson and/or Pop back to Buffalo but both pitchers are currently riding a bit of a hot streak as of late within the Blue Jays bullpen and could make compelling arguments to stay on the roster. Tim Mayza and Génesis Cabrera have also had their fair share of woes to begin the season, although Cabrera has turned a corner as of late while Mayza has been staying steady with his ~6.00-6.50 ERA since the start of May. Both have options as well should the Jays decide one of them needs to be sent down.

The impending roster decisions make things a bit interesting and considering Swanson is still trying to find some consistency on the mound, he could also fit into a potential option candidacy considering he has one left at his disposal. He also hasn’t met the minimum five-year threshold in terms of service time (four years and 96 days) and would not be able to refuse the assignment should the Jays go down that route.

That being said, the Blue Jays haven’t optioned him at this point in the season and he is coming off one of his better stretches as of late, so it may seem like his spot may be more geared towards being on the safe side compared to the likes of Pearson, Pop, or a different arm in the Jays bullpen. This all again banks on how many pitchers the Blue Jays do call up to Toronto, however, considering both Pearson and Pop have been putting up strong numbers as of late, they could have bought themselves some more time in the big leagues but it would come at a cost – either one or two arms (not Green) has to stay in Buffalo or one of the veteran members with an option has to do a round in triple-A; which arguably might not be a bad thing to do some work away from the spotlight.

Chris Bassitt is battling some neck spasms and could require an IL stint, which would elevate some roster decision pressures for the time being (with Francis or Rodriguez heading to the rotation) but the options for demotion are there should the Jays staff decide things need to be shaken up.

Regardless of how things fall soon, the message remains – the Blue Jays bullpen needs to figure things out quickly if the club is to find success before the trade deadline.





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