State of the Position: Bullpen

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DUNEDIN, Fla. — It’s easy to sit back pouring over the Toronto Blue Jays depth chart and envision a long October run.

The depth and talent in the rotation and a potent top-five-in-baseball offence make it easy to dream on.

Oftentimes, however, baseball doesn’t work that way.

Injuries happen, things go wrong, and teams have to grind to get through 162 games.

Pete Walker’s decade-long tenure as Blue Jays pitching coach has provided some perspective when it comes to entering a season with expectations as high as they are in 2022.

“I was here in 2013 and there were very high expectations back then and things didn’t go so well for that team for different reasons,” Walker said, recalling the club that quickly let things slip away early in the season. “I think the expectations are high but we still know we need to show up every day. There’s an excitement that you see with the players and the staff, but we know it’s a long year — it’s 162 games. It’s not a football season or whatever where you give a rah-rah speech and go out and get ‘em. It’s a long year, it’s a marathon. Our guys are prepared now and I think these guys are really excited and there’s a positive vibe and a lot of confidence here.”

The bullpen is oftentimes where things go awry, despite the best efforts of front offices around the game to stockpile arms and build in contingency plans.

When it comes to the ‘pen that GM Ross Atkins has put together heading into 2022, there’s no arguing it’s a step forward from where they were heading into last season.

Overall, last year’s bullpen finished with a 4.08 ERA, 16th in baseball, but a handful of early-season blowups cost them games and forced Atkins to trade for both Trevor Richards and Adam Cimber in