The Toronto Blue Jays’ season is spiraling out of control. The Blue Jays' disappointing campaign hit a new low today with a 13-0 beatdown at the hands of division rivals the Tampa Bay Rays. And the team’s shaky relief pitching was once again a serious problem.
Despite being shut out, Blue Jays’ manager John Schneider directed his postgame vitriol at his team’s struggling bullpen, per MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson on X. “It’s 3-0 in the sixth and it ends up like that. We’ve got to put our focus and energy on making better pitches and limiting walks,” Schneider said.
To Schneider’s point, the game was still manageable in the sixth inning. Starter Chris Bassitt provided the Blue Jays with a solid outing going five innings, striking out six batters and giving up three earned runs on five hits. But once Toronto’s manager turned the game over to the bullpen, things quickly fell apart.
Trevor Richards was the first reliever up. He came on to start the sixth inning and allowed four hits and four earned runs while only recording a single out. The bleeding didn’t stop there as Tampa Bay put up five more runs in the seventh inning, lighting up Ryan Burr for four earned runs and Nate Pearson for another.
With the game well out of hand the Blue Jays turned to infielder Ernie Clement to pitch the ninth and the Rays got a run off of him as well. When the dust settled, Tampa Bay had scored 13 runs on 16 hits.
Regardless of the Blue Jays' offensive no-show, the team's relief pitchers completely transformed this game, giving up nine runs in two innings. The result was an embarrassing 13-0 home blowout.
Blue Jays’ manager John Schneider is not pleased with his bullpen’s performance
The bullpen has been a major weakness on a team surprisingly riddled with weaknesses. Blue Jays’ relievers are at or near the bottom of the league in most pitching stats, ranking 24th in WHIP, 29th in ERA and strikeouts and dead last in HR/9 and fWAR.
The team has dealt with its share of injuries, losing two-time All-Star closer Jordan Romano at the end of May to right elbow soreness that eventually required surgery which could keep him out for the rest of the year. And the Blue Jays only recently got reliever Yimi Garcia back from his own right elbow ailment that kept him sidelined for a month.
Still, ineffectiveness has been the biggest problem with Toronto’s bullpen. And the pitchers that have had success this season, like Garcia and Chad Green, will likely end up on the trade block. Garcia in particular could be moved as he becomes a free agent at the end of the year.
The Blue Jays were expected to compete for a title this season with a young core of talented players entering their primes. Now 15 games behind the first-place Baltimore Orioles in the AL East, the Blue Jays are expected to become sellers at the MLB trade deadline. The only question is if the organization considers anyone off limits or if they’re ready to tear it all down and start fresh.
Some MLB insiders believe Toronto will primarily be open to moving players on expiring contracts at the deadline in an effort to shed salary and get under the luxury tax. However, some baseball executives think the Blue Jays should pull the trigger on a massive trade, moving superstar first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or shortstop Bo Bichette for a haul of prospects, with an emphasis on young pitching talent.
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