Romano emerging as valuable 'pen piece

TORONTO -- The Blue Jays have a bullpen problem, and for the first time in a long time, it’s a good one.

Reliever Jordan Romano opened the year as a mid-inning reliever with some upside, but he’s quickly become the story of the season. With nine innings of scoreless one-hit ball, and a fastball-slider combo that’s gone from promising to dominant, Romano keeps forcing his way into bigger roles.

The only step left is a save opportunity. Entering the weekend against the Rays, manager Charlie Montoyo didn’t want to tip his hand on whether Romano or Anthony Bass would get the next shot, but it’s clearly up for grabs depending on the flow of the game.

For now, Montoyo is focused on leverage over hard, traditional roles.

“If we’re facing the top of the lineup in the seventh inning or the eighth inning, you might see Romano or Bass,” Montoyo said. “That’s the game. We’re never going to make it to the ninth inning if we don’t stop them in the seventh or the eighth inning.”

Matchups matter here. If there are runners in scoring position and the Blue Jays need to escape a jam, think Romano, given his strikeout ability. On Friday, Montoyo got Bass up in front of Romano, but cautioned after the game that he only did that in case four outs were needed. His preference, at the time, was to stretch Bass if necessary, given Romano’s higher workload recently.

“We know, for sure, that they’re going to be at the end of the games,” Montoyo said. “Early in the season, I was using Romano in the sixth inning, because that was the game, and it was high-leverage. It all depends on when the game is on the line.”

Romano’s been the best of the group, but Bass has looked sharp, too, outside of his one blown save against the Marlins on Aug. 11. The Blue Jays also have A.J. Cole, who has quietly pitched eight scoreless innings to open the year, along with Rafael Roles, who closed in Japan. Anthony Kay and Thomas Hatch have exceeded expectations out of the ‘pen, too, and can provide multiple innings.

The real X-factor here, though, is Ryan Borucki. The left-hander has struck out multiple hitters in all six of his appearances, and his 19.5 K/9 (13 in six innings) lead all MLB relievers entering play Saturday. While Kay and Hatch are destined to start in the future, the temptation to keep Borucki in the bullpen could be very real as he’s looked better than ever before.

“He has been dominant against everyone he’s faced,” said GM Ross Atkins. “He’s really fared well with a lot of swing and miss and the power to his fastball. It doesn’t happen to everyone, where you put them into a bullpen role and the stuff ticks up a bit, but it has certainly happened for him.”

No. 8 prospect Moreno added to player pool
The Blue Jays added 20-year-old catching prospect Gabriel Moreno to their 60-man player pool on Saturday, and he’ll report to their alternate training site in Rochester, N.Y. Moreno is the club’s No. 8 prospect overall, per MLB Pipeline, just behind fellow catcher Alejandro Kirk at No. 6.

Moreno signed for a low bonus out of Venezuela back in 2016, but has impressed the Blue Jays with a contact-focused swing and advanced plate approach in the lower levels. Over 82 games with Class A Lansing last season, Moreno hit .280 with an .823 OPS, including 12 home runs.

This is a development opportunity for Moreno, who is still a couple of years away from pushing the Major Leagues, but it’s another example of Toronto’s impressive catching depth that stretches beyond Danny Jansen and Reese McGuire. It’s a luxury few organizations have, and if the Blue Jays were to go shopping on the trade market at any point over the next year, their catching depth holds some valuable trade chips.

Grichuk on Buffalo
Back when the Blue Jays were still searching far and wide for a 2020 home, Randal Grichuk viewed Buffalo as the “worst case.” Now that the center fielder has a few games under his belt at Sahlen Field, including his first home run of the season on Friday, he’s impressed with all of the work that’s gone in over such a short period to prep the stadium for his team.

His only worries with playing out of Buffalo now have more to do with perception and feeling instead of the actual infrastructure and amenities available.

“I think it’s just the concept of playing in a Minor League ballpark for big league games, meaningful games, numbers,” Grichuk said. “I think there’s a lot that people can argue when it comes to our numbers. Inflated, or can you justify the numbers, whatever it might be. So I think that’s kind of the main concern.”