As it stands, the Toronto Blue Jays are a team with a clearly-defined Achilles Heel.
The rotation leads has logged more innings than any in baseball with a respectable 3.82 ERA. The lineup is star-studded and coming around after a rough start to the season. A great deal of the team’s troubles reside in a bullpen that has combined to post an uninspiring 4.38 ERA despite being well-rested.
In the aftermath of a series where the Blue Jays relief corps allowed 12 runs in seven innings against the Colorado Rockies, general manager Ross Atkins discussed the issue on The Jeff Blair Show on Sportsnet 590 The Fan, saying the team could explore using Drew Hutchison in a relief role.
“He’s one of our best pitchers,” Atkins said. “If we get to a point where our starting pitching isn’t in need of him any longer, and we feel like we can get into the post-season without him as a starting pitcher, then he will absolutely be a part of the solution.”
Hutchison, who was named a triple-A all-star Wednesday, is having a strong season with the Buffalo Bisons with a 2.78 ERA, a 3.24 FIP and 97 strikeouts in 87.1 innings. The right-hander has come out of the bullpen only four times in his professional career, most recently making two appearances with the Blue Jays last season. Yet if Aaron Sanchez remains in the rotation all season the door may open for Hutchison to contribute in a relief role.
If the 25-year-old were to join the bullpen the hope would be that he could resolve a season-long issue by building a bridge to closer Roberto Osuna. While the problem is undoubtedly a frustrating one for Blue Jays fans, Atkins feels that with Osuna as a foundation, building a solid bullpen is much easier.
“There aren’t a lot of teams that have an Osuna at the end of a game and that’s something that’s very difficult to acquire,” he said. “What’s a little easier is to supplement and complement that.”
For now, Atkins plans to focus on internal solutions, but he isn’t ruling out going outside the organization for relief help.
“Do we have the internal options? Absolutely we have them, there’s no doubt in my mind,” he said. “But things happen and we’ll have to handle them. Whether that be an injury or lack of performance we’ll have to absorb that.
“I think we’ll look to do it internally initially, but if we have to go external we’ll certainly look to do that.”
