The Toronto Blue Jays fell back below .500 after the bullpen blew a 5-1 lead in the seventh inning Monday against the Chicago White Sox.
When asked whether or not he’s concerned about the team’s relievers, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins told Dean Blundell & Co. Tuesday: “Yeah. There’s always sleepless nights. That’s a tough loss. We’re not looking to be average this year, so that would be reason for concern when we have tough losses like those and it’s not the first one.”
Atkins isn’t in full-blown panic mode just yet, but he realizes the bullpen needs to do more to support the starting pitching, which has overall been quality this season.
“There’s reason to believe our bullpen will get things turned around and that’s what we spend our time and energy on,” Atkins said. “Thinking about how we can help those guys, putting them in better situations, complement them better and we’ll continue to think about that until we get it right.
LISTEN: Ross Atkins on bullpen struggles, Saunders, Colabello suspension
“My focus is how do I help Pete Walker and John Gibbons. That’s where I spend my time and energy. I’m certainly available to those guys because I’m a link to the information we have in the front office and certainly we’ll pool our collective experiences and get all of the intellect together possible to make sure that we’re being collaborative that way.
“I’m going to them with, ‘Hey, how can we help on the analytical side? How can we help from studying things further? What experiences or contacts do we have that we can look at things a different way to make sure we’re getting all of the information possible to these guys?’”
Brett Cecil replaced Marcus Stroman Monday with a four-run cushion in the seventh. He allowed three runs off two hits and a walk, ended up with the loss and couldn’t get out of the inning. Gavin Floyd then came in but allowed a two-run double and the Blue Jays never got the lead back.
Atkins, maintaining a positive attitude, explained he’s not concerned about the way Cecil is performing and insisted there are no lingering effects from a recent calf injury the lefty was dealing with.
“He’s feeling great, feeling strong,” Atkins said. “He’s had a rocky spring training and a rocky start to the season just with some mild disruptions but there’s no reason to be concerned.”
Another reliever struggling this season is Drew Storen. He has allowed nine hits and five earned runs in 7.1 innings pitched. The Blue Jays sent Ben Revere to the Washington Nationals in the off-season to acquire the 28-year-old.
“There has been outings where we feel we have a guy that could close a ballgame out, that could certainly pitch the eighth, that could come in and get very good hitters out,” Atkins added. “He’s showing that. I don’t think Drew feels like he’s at his best right now, but we all feel collectively, including him, that things are trending in the right direction.”
