2016 AL East Rankings by Position: Relief Pitching
By Nate Wardle
4. Toronto Blue Jays – Drew Storen, Roberto Osuna, Brett Cecil, Aaron Loup, Ryan Tepera, Steve Delabar, David Aardsma, Pat Venditte, Jesse Chavez, Gavin Floyd
Speaking of upgrading the bullpen, I give you the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays had Roberto Osuna, who as a 20-year-old rookie was very good for the Jays. But, they went out and traded Ben Revere to the Washington Nationals for Storen, who did not want to be stuck behind Jonathan Papelbon. Now, Storen and Osuna are both closing options. Both of these guys have been good in their time in the majors.
The rest of the Jays’ bullpen is made up of Jays bullpen mainstays, journeyman pitchers and arms with intrigue. Cecil, Loup and Delabar have been in the Jays’ pen for years now. Chavez and Floyd were both signed this year to compete for spots both in the rotation and also the bullpen. Aardsma is a veteran bullpen arm who does his job without a lot of notoriety.
Then there is Venditte, the switch-pitcher. He was quite the novelty when he was called up by the Athletics in 2015, but he was not overly successful. However, he makes for a unique piece in the bullpen because he can switch hands to get an advantage against the batter, depending on their splits.
The strength of the Jays’ bullpen will likely come down to whether Storen or Osuna can grab hold of the closer position, because the closer by committee usually means you have no closer.
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