Toronto Blue Jays: Top 10 moments from the 2020 season

2. The emergence of the bullpen

At this point, should we even be surprised that the Blue Jays have rebuilt their bullpen yet again with fantastic results?

Every year, the season starts with a list of names only known to the most diehard of fans. As the dog days of summer roll around, the names begin to get more familiar. But when that dastardly trade deadline arrives, they get shipped off to far away lands in return for prospects. It’s a Blue Jay tradition as old as time.

This year, however, the Blue Jays weren’t sellers at the deadline. Instead of using the stellar first halves of A.J. Cole, Rafael Dolis and Anthony Bass to wheel and deal, they decided to keep them around. This has allowed this current bullpen to become one of the most appreciated in recent memory.

The jewel of the bullpen thus far has been Jordan Romano. Coming out of left field both literally and figuratively (the Blue Jays’ bullpens are located up the left-field line at Sahlen Field), Romano baffled hitters with his unorthodox delivery and flaming velocity. He also had a positive effect on the competitive spirit, as the 6’5 native of Markham, Ont. was repeatedly seen stalking the unoccupied bleachers in Buffalo before coming into the game, and uttering words of encouragement to himself on the mound.

In many ways, the bullpen reflects the city it represents; people from all walks of life coming together to work in (mostly) harmony. In his first season away from his native Japan, Shun Yamaguchi showed flashes of an effective splitter. Meanwhile, Dolis returned from Japan to pitch in the big leagues for the first time since 2013 to great results. Anthony Kay, the main chip in the Marcus Stroman trade, went straight at opposing hitters, pitching them inside frequently.

But perhaps no story from the bullpen is better than that of Julian Merryweather. Dubbed the ‘player to be named later‘ in the trade that sent Josh Donaldson to Cleveland, the former Akron RubberDuck finally made his major league debut this season after Tommy John surgery robbed him of that chance in his latter days with Cleveland. He proceeded to test the limits of the radar gun, and has proven to be a trusted opener for Montoyo’s famed bullpen days.

Unfortunately, with the lack of reliable starting pitching, the bullpen was taxed during the season. In September, that extra work caught up with them. As of this writing, Romano, Merryweather, former closer Ken Giles, and long man Jacob Waguespack all find themselves on the IL heading into October.

There’s hope for a return for at least Romano, but the Blue Jays will be hoping for a speedy recovery from their blue-collar bullpen.