2011 Jays Bullpen Discussion Thread

[satyr9]

no reason to move Zack to the BP until he pitches himself there. I would hazard at guess at

Francisco - closer
Purcey - setup
Rauch - setup
Dotel
Camp
Jansen
Villenova/Carlson

Dotel is terrible and cant be relied on in the 8th.

This looks about right, although it's missing Frasor and I wouldn't exactly call Purcey a set-up guy (late inning LOOGY is more like it I think), but it does beg the question why did they acquire Dotel? I guess he came first they didn't know they'd get Rauch and Francisco, but even if they moved Frasor and didn't add Dotel

Francisco/Rauch/Camp/Janssen/Villanueva
Purcey/Carlson

Looks fine to me. Well I'd rather have another LH reliever than Carlson, but neither Dotel nor Frasor solves that problem.

[baulderdash77]

I think that we have a consolidation trade coming up. We have a bunch of guys that should be your 2nd best or 3rd best reliever but no true closer.

[Avenger]

You guys think the Bullpen is overcrowded now, it will get significantly worse if Dustin McGowan's recovery is as legit as its being reported ? Dustin is out of options, the Jays might be able to sneek in a 30 day rehab stint but they'll lose some legitimately good relievers or McGowan himself to waivers if the roster crunch isn't taken care of.

[WpgPage]

I could see all the guys with options put in LV and some guys without put on the DL for soreness then assigned on conditioning stints until AA can move some of these guys.

[baulderdash77]

They'll stash McGowan on the 60 day DL if he's ok just to make sure his arm isn't going to blow up. He can get a minor league rehab stint. Then they'll have a decision to make with him in June.

[WpgPage]

Apparently Jo Jo Reyes also pitching well in camp could be a good BP arm after failing as a starter. (also out of options)

[LittleOzzy]

Trio of front-runners compete for Jays' closing pitcher job

At 6'11, Jon Rauch is the tallest player in MLB history. He's also one of the front-runners for the Toronto Blue Jays' vacant closing pitcher job.

Rauch, who had 21 saves for the Minnesota Twins last season, is one of three hurlers in a hotly-contested battle in spring training to claim the coveted position. Also in the running are right-hander Frank Francisco and veteran Octavio Dotel.

"It went from uncertainty now to all of a sudden some depth and a lot of options back there," said manager John Farrell. "The one thing that was laid out to everyone that either signed here through free agency or was brought back through a trade, was that there was going to be competition for it."

GM Alex Anthopoulos has a number of reasons he wants to have depth on his roster.

"Guys get hurt, guys don't perform well, even when you get into the season. So depth in the bullpen is very important to us, especially with the loss of guys like (Scott) Downs and (Kevin) Gregg, the experience that they brought," says Anthopoulos.

http://www.tsn.ca/mlb/story/?id=354594

[LittleOzzy]

The Blue Jays have too many quality relievers. Is that a problem?

The Toronto Blue Jays have been busy rebuilding their bullpen; Octavio Dotel, Frank Francisco, and Jon Rauch. With these three legitimate relievers, someone has to be the odd man out in the Jays pen.

Jason Frasor just resigned. Jesse Carlson is a reliable lefty specialist along with David Purcey (though both have a lot to prove). Shawn Camp, one of the most reliable guys the Jays have had in years, is not going anywhere.

Those six players really don’t have much to worry about this spring.

A few players we feel the hammer coming down because, for once the Jays have a plethora of pitchers widely capable of becoming a starter or reliever. It really depends on what the Jays’ needs are when its time to place that red tag in some poor players locker.

And yes that’s a “Major League” reference. I could mention Ricky Vaughn and his tantrum after Dorn hazed the youngster, but I’m referring to Gentry, the guy with no lines but has the most dejected look on his face when cut. Classic!

Jesse Litsch and Marc Rzepczynski will battle for the number five spot in the rotation, the loser heads to the bullpen, maybe?

That leaves one out of the following to make the opening day roster; Casey Janssen, Josh Roenicke, Robert Ray, Jo-Jo Reyes, Chad Cordero or Carlos Villanueva. And don’t forget Canadian, Scott Richmond and spot starter Brad Mills will stand their ground when the time comes.

http://www.examiner.com/baseball-in-can ... -a-problem

[Michael Bradley]

The Dotel signing looks utterly pointless now after the Jays acquired Francisco and Rauch. Might cost the team an arm like Reyes or Purcey who, if nothing else, present more upside than an aging ROOGY. Cheaper to boot.

[torontoaces04]

I was really surprised to see the bullpen depth AA was able to acquire. My vote would do to either Cordero or Villanueva being the odd-man out.

[LittleOzzy]

Toronto relievers will have established roles

Manager John Farrell would like to have established roles for every member of his bullpen by the time the regular season rolls around on April 1.

Farrell said that while he will officially name a closer, he is not going to have one pitcher in particular pitch the eighth inning when his team is leading late in games.

The first-year manager would prefer to mix and match his relievers depending on who is scheduled to be at the plate. Farrell did stress that each reliever will be informed prior to the games start about what type of situation they will be expected to pitch in.

"It's no different than somebody walking into a classroom to take a test," Farrell said. "If they've studied for their exam and they know what to expect, there's less anxiety, there's less anticipation.

"If a reliever comes into the ballpark on any given night and knows, 'Hey this is my role,' they can prepare mentally for it and build to that point in time in the game that they've taken the necessary steps, they've gone through their routine. ... And typically, that's when guys have success."

http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/ar ... r&c_id=tor

[LittleOzzy]

Blue Jays Shut down Jesse Carlson

The Toronto Blue Jays have temporarily shut down RP Jesse Carlson (shoulder) due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder, reports Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com. "We're going to back him out for a couple of days," said skipper John Farrell. "He has some inflammation and some irritation in the shoulder. We'll have more on his exam after it's over and completed."

http://www.kffl.com/gnews.php?id=696913 ... z1FN5c6iip

[LittleOzzy]

Many arms, few jobs

The current plan is to have seven relievers fill out the bullpen to start the season. Frank Francisco, Jon Rauch and Octavio Dotel -- all brought in to solidify the back end of the pen -- take up three spots.

Incumbents Jason Frasor and Shawn Camp make it five.

That leaves left-handers David Purcey, Jesse Carlson, Brad Mills, Jo-Jo Reyes and, if he doesn't make the rotation, Rzepczynski, as well as righties Carlos Villanueva and Casey Janssen battling for the final two spots.

This will represent the hottest competition worth watching over the final three weeks of camp.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/2011/0 ... g_forward/

[luvtheteam]

The Dotel signing looks utterly pointless now after the Jays acquired Francisco and Rauch. Might cost the team an arm like Reyes or Purcey who, if nothing else, present more upside than an aging ROOGY. Cheaper to boot.

I think he was insurance in case they couldn't land anyone else, like Rauch. Fransisco came out of the blue after the Wells trade. That being said, i agree and he is really redundant now. Definately expect some kind of trade to package 2 or 3 of these guys up to get something. Overall though, just a huge pile of mediocre arms IMO.

I thought Villaneva looked pretty decent in the Sunday game on TV. I thought in watching him he was likely to get a job in the bullpen.

[LittleOzzy]

Purcey looking to gain consistency in 'pen

David Purcey has all of the tools that are necessary to become an elite reliever.

The 28-year-old possesses an overpowering fastball that should strike fear into opposing teams' lineups during late-game situations.

So far during his three-year career, though, Purcey has been his own worst enemy. His inability to control the strike zone has been the one thing standing in his way of achieving success.

"He has such swing-and-miss ability with his fastball, and that is his calling card," Toronto manager John Farrell said. "However, with that inconsistency comes the uncertainty of a role.

"He's a guy that we love the talent, we love his durability, and yet you try to mix and match, and put guys in positions for success, and that's where we've got to get a little bit more of a known commodity."

Farrell's comments came one day after Purcey entered a Grapefruit League game against Tampa Bay and walked the only three batters he faced. It's a problem that has plagued him throughout his time in professional baseball.

During his first two seasons as a starter, Purcey walked 59 batters over 113 innings. That prompted the Blue Jays to transition him to the bullpen in 2010, where he began to experience some success.

The native of Illinois went 0-1 with a 3.71 ERA, but still walked 15 batters over 34 innings. He cut his arsenal down to two pitches, which the club hopes over time will lead to more control on the mound.

"We just have to get him into a position to deliver consistent strikes," Farrell said.

"We've spent time solidifying or focusing on one secondary pitch. There has been a slight adjustment with the grip on his breaking ball ... to simplify it. Not to go out and think about seven, eight, nine hitters at a time. It's two pitches,

http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/ar ... r&c_id=tor

[SharoneWright]

Toronto decided Marc Rzepczynski will start the season in the bullpen.
I
(Litsch commentary)
I
Rzepczynski was given the chance to start the season in the minors but Rzepczynski chose a relief role.
"He'll work out of the bullpen the rest of camp," manager John Farrell said. "What (Rzepczynski) did in a couple of outings coming out of the bullpen last year, I think his stuff plays out better in shorter stints."

Unclear (to me) if this means Zep is still having to compete for a bullpen spot, or if it was a compromise he accepted in order to break camp with the big club...

http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gam ... -blue-jays

[MGD24]

I posted in the Spring Training thread too...but Francisco has an appt with Dr Andrews Tuesday for his shoulder...good thing we have a lot of RP's I guess