It is no secret that the Blue Jays’ bullpen concentrated its best level in the impact of Louis Varland, Spencer Miles and Tyler Rogers throughout the entire season, without leaving out Jeff Hoffman, who lost the closer’s job after the inconsistencies he went through during the first month of the campaign, but then managed to make adjustments and finished by recording the highest strikeout rate in the entire bullpen, with 14.06 K/9, in addition to the third-highest fWAR, in 48 innings before going on to reinforce the Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline.

So Varland, Rogers and Miles carried the bullpen from beginning to end. The most surprising thing is that they finished the season combining for a 1.62 ERA in 186 relief appearances, with 39 holds, 41 saves —35 of them were by Varland— and only six blown saves, which resulted in an impressive 93.0% save percentage.

Varland had only two blown saves; Rogers finished with four, and Miles closed with a 6-0 record without blowing any opportunities. Of course, they led the relief corps and there were many other good performances, but it is clear that the impact was different when none of the three took the mound.

Even so, Toronto finished with the 10th-highest fWAR (4.9) in the entire league in 2026 and, as a group, managed to appear in the Top 10 in Run Value with three types of pitches: the slider finished in third place in the league with a 19.8 Run Value, the curveball in fifth (4.5) and the four-seam fastball (19.5) in seventh.

Should Toronto invest in continuing to improve its bullpen?

We are clear about all the problems, inconsistencies and injuries that the Blue Jays’ pitching went through, especially the starting rotation, which is why it is expected that they can find a high-profile free agent and at least one mid-rotation starter for 2027.

However, I would not rule out the Jays making a move to reinforce their bullpen and take it to a much higher level than what we saw this year. As I have written before in this column, Toronto needs to improve the left-handed side of the bullpen, since its three main relievers are right-handed.

In 2026, only four left-handed pitchers were able to record at least 20 innings as relievers with the Jays, and the one who contributed the most was Mason Fluharty, who recorded just 0.5 fWAR in 79 relief appearances and 58 ⅓ innings. Joe Mantiply pitched 27 innings and finished with a terrible 5.38 xERA. Brendon Little made 30 appearances, pitched 28 ⅓ innings and finished with a negative -0.2 fWAR, in addition to allowing a .414 BABIP and recording a terrible 31.3% HR/FB rate. Adam Macko recorded a 5.31 ERA and a 4.56 xFIP, the highest among all left-handed relievers.

That said, my main proposal to erase part of that uncertainty could be Alex Vesia, one of the best left-handed relievers on the free-agent market. Vesia will turn 31 in April 2027 and has seven seasons of Major League experience, six of them as a main part of the great bullpen that was decisive in leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to win two consecutive World Series, in 2024 and 2025, against the New York Yankees and the Blue Jays, respectively.

In 2026, he finished another fairly solid season in which he finished in the 77th percentile in pitching, maintaining his ability to strike out batters, generate whiffs at a high level —he finished in the 95th and 96th percentiles, respectively— and avoid hard contact. These qualities have helped him survive his control problems, the most threatening point that has followed him throughout his career. His arm remains strong and capable of adapting to large workloads as a reliever, and he has demonstrated that throughout the last five seasons, with at least 56 relief appearances in each of them and an average of 69 in the last three.

That ability to be available and consistent under pressure makes Vesia one of the best options on the market and could be within the Jays’ reach for an estimated value of $9 million. So perhaps a deal for a couple of seasons could be closed between $16 and 18 million, and Toronto would get one of the elite relievers who often stands out among the most undervalued.

The most attractive part of a possible deal is that there have been few left-handed pitchers with Vesia’s ability to bounce back over these last three seasons. During that period, he has a 1.24 ERA, the best among relievers who have faced at least 180 batters in appearances with only one day of rest. Vesia also has the lowest OPS allowed, at just .463 OPS, and the second-highest strikeout rate (12.18 K/9), only behind veteran flamethrower Aroldis Chapman (12.86).