The Toronto Blue Jays are looking to improve their bullpen and starting rotation this winter and it looks like pitcher Yariel Rodriguez might be getting the short end of the stick due to this.
The Blue Jays had one of the worst bullpens in the MLB last season with a collective 4.82 ERA in 2024 and their starting pitcher rotation did not do much better which is why drastic changes are ahead.
Blue Jays looking to possibly move Yariel Rodriguez to the bullpen next season
Rodriguez finished his first season with the Blue Jays in 2024 after signing a five year deal and while it wasn’t awful, he does not seem to be a consistent starting pitcher if the team truly plans on taking a big leap next season.
The Blue Jays main focus seems to be signing some bullpen pitcher but it looks like they want to add a a starting pitcher as well to improve their rotation which would result in Rodriguez heading to the bullpen in 2025. If the Blue Jays go through with this, they would be improving both their starting rotation and bullpen since Rodriguez could potentially be a solid reliever.
If they sign an established starter – Kikuchi, for the sake of argument – they could move Yariel Rodriguez to the bullpen, augmenting their pitching staff as a whole while building out valuable depth behind their starting five. In theory, it would be a way to upgrade their rotation and bullpen at once. -Nicholson-Smith
This move could help the Blue Jays but fans are also worried that Rodriguez has shown that he takes a little while to get warmed up in games and if he went to the bullpen he would need to learn to be able to turn his game on as soon as he gets on the mound.
While nothing is certain in terms of how the Blue Jays will handle improving their rotation and bullpen, the one clear point is that actions need to be made because 2025 will be the same as last year if nothing is done.
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