The Blue Jays will be looking for a closer and they may have seen him pitch this past weekend.
During the Blue Jays recently completed road trip, both Jon Rauch and later Frank Francisco, closers No. 1 and No. 1-A this season, were lost to injuries.
Rauch went down following the series opener against Seattle due to a case of appendicitis, and then in the trip finale at Oakland, Francisco felt discomfort in his right shoulder while warming up to pitch the ninth and decided to shut it down.
And with that, Casey Janssen was forced to pitch three innings to pick up the save.
So, as Butch the Boxer said to Marcellus Wallace in Pulp Fiction, "What now?"
Well, it’s safe to assume Janssen is the man for the time being. His numbers say why not, although his stuff isn’t exactly text book closer material. He earned hi ninth career save in 15 opportunities (60 per cent) while closing out Luis Perez’s spectacular first start in the Majors on Sunday. That’s slightly worse than what they’ve gotten to date from Francisco (10/14 – 71.4 per cent) and Rauch (11/16 – 69 per cent), but with both on the shelf, it’s good enough to get a steady shot.
Jesse Litsch is now likely the setup man along with veteran Shawn Camp. That’s hardly ideal with the Blue Jays heading into a final stretch of games in which 26 of their final 35 games will come against teams with a .500 or better record.
The bigger question then becomes, "What then?" as in next season. That is not so cut and dry.
With the deals that they pulled to bring Colby Rasmus into the fold, it left the Blue Jays bullpen extremely thin. It is therefore expected then that Janssen and Litsch will arrive in Dunedin next February with the inside track on bullpen jobs. Litsch certainly has shown that his most value going forward will be as a long reliever. Rauch and Francisco both find themselves without a contract after this season and, most likely, will be allowed to walk.
At the top three levels of their minor league system, no one really has the look of being a ninth inning pitcher in the Majors any time soon. Danny Farquhar is the Las Vegas closer with 11 saves, but a 1.55 WHIP and a 4.31 ERA won’t lead to a promotion. Bobby Korecky picked up 10 saves with a 2.34 ERA at double-A to earn a climb up the ladder to triple-A, where he has allowed just one run in eight appearances. But at 5’11" and 185 pounds, he doesn’t strike an imposing figure.
One arm that has fast-tracked through three levels this year, although mostly as a starter, has been right-hander Chad Beck, who checks in at 6’4", 245 lbs. I had not heard of him until recently when his name was brought up to Buck Martinez by none other than Dave Stieb, who was taking in the pre-game by the Blue Jays dugout in Oakland.
Stieb, who has been in uniform from time-to-time in Las Vegas, was impressed by Beck, where been used as a starter in Las Vegas. He certainly has the size for the role.
Perhaps the reason for the promotion of Joel Carreno to the Jays’ pen from doubele-A is with an eye on him getting some high leverage reps before this season is over. He struck out 152 hitters in 134.2 innings (10.2/9 IP).
Then there’s a name from the past in Dustin McGowan. Many queries have been made in the chat forums regarding McGowan being a possible closer project but the 29-year-old is trying to return to the Jays with a medical file that includes two major surgeries on his pitching shoulder. The Jays are hopeful that he can return this September as a starter and realize that they can best control the wear and tear in that arm by having him on a regular routine as a starter.
Or maybe wild child Kyle Drabek is the one to target long term for the role? He flamed out in Toronto this spring and then continued to have trouble throwing strikes in Las Vegas (34 walks in 58 innings). We’re not saying that this might be the way to go with him, but maybe just making him a two-pitch, one-inning guy might remedy his wildness.
In the off-season, should Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos start looking on the free agent market, a big name that has a past with Jays’ manager John Farrell from his days as Red Sox pitching coach is Jonathan Papelbon. Boston’s all-time saves leader is currently making $12 million in his final season before free agency and would likely be looking for a sizeable raise.
The Jays’ have said that they have money to spend on the right situation and this looks like one. Keep an eye on this after the World Series. Or how about Rich Harden, who has dominated the Jays twice in his last three starts and has shown that, when healthy, he still is a top pitcher. I realize that he has always been a starter, but why not give him some thought?
He’ll still be just 30 at the start of 2012 and perhaps could follow in the footsteps of Dennis Eckersley and find a second-half career as a closer. Eck was 32 when he made the switch and went on to become a Hall of Famer. Harden has a solid two-pitch (fastball, change) repertoire, is a free agent (he’s making just $1.5 million this season) and might be up to a career change.
Just a thought, but I’m not the only member of the media to express this sentiment.
A scan through the game logs from this season shows that the Blue Jays’ bullpen has blown 20 saves so far this season, a number that is second highest in the American League and must be lowered significantly if the team is to move towards seriously thinking about contending.
And the role will high on the general manager’s ‘must fix’ list before next season.
