Relief market starting to heat up as Blue Jays look to add another arm.
The market for relief pitchers is slowly starting to pick up.
In an offseason that has been heavy on signing free agent first baseman and a guy named Juan Soto, the market for relief pitchers has been slower to develop. Since the Blue Jays signed closer Jeff Hoffman howeverm that appears to be changing.
The biggest names still available are potential Hall of Fame closers Kenley Jansen and Craig Kimbrel. While those two have zero chance of coming to Toronto, there are several other arms available, including many former Jays.
One name to keep an eye on is Tommy Kahnle.
While there has been no indication that the Blue Jays are connected to, or even interested in the 11 year veteran, his presence as a solid middle-innings option would compliment lefthander Brendon Little quite nicely.
For 2024, Kahnle went 0-2 with a 2.11 ERA and one save in 50 games. That is exactly the type of pitcher the Blue Jays could use. With Hoffman and fellow relievers Yimi Garcia, Chad Green, and even Erik Swanson, the late innings are now shored up for the Blue Jays.
While Brendon Little has shown he is perfectly capable of handling the middle innings, he is coming off his first full season in the bigs - and he didn't even get called up until June. The Blue Jays have Zach Pop, but he had an up-and-down 2024.
Taking a flyer on a veteran like Kahnle could help ease the burden and pressure on youngster such as Little.
With four weeks until the start of Spring Training, and about 2.5 months until the start of the 2025 season, the Blue Jays have plenty of time to make something done.
For all your current Toronto Blue Jays and MLB baseball news check out BlueJaysCentral.com on Facebook, X and Blue Sky.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 14 | 103 ANSWERS Relief market starting to heat up as Blue Jays look to add another arm. Should the Blue Jays sign a reliever such as Tommy Kahnle? | ||
| Yes | 74 | 71.8 % |
| No | 29 | 28.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
