If the Toronto Blue Jays still need anything before the start of the regular season, it’s left-handed bullpen support.
As of Monday, the Brewers’ top lefty candidates out of the bullpen were Brendon Little, who had a strong season before a brutal playoff run, and Erik Lauer, who spent most of the year as a fill-in starter. While other options exist internally, it might make sense for Toronto to bring in one more outsider.
On Monday, Bleacher Report’s Tim Kelly identified a trade candidate for the Blue Jays who would shore up the back end of the bullpen in a meaningful capacity.
Kelly wrote a list of “realistic trades that could happen before opening day,” and one fit he identified was the St. Louis Cardinals sending lefty setup man JoJo Romero to Toronto.
“For as deep as the Toronto Blue Jays appear, the defending (American League) Champions could use another left-handed set-up option to go in a bullpen led by righties Jeff Hoffman, Louis Varland, Tyler Rogers and Yimi Garcia,” Kelly wrote.
“In his first offseason as president of baseball operations for the Cardinals, Chaim Bloom has shown a willingness to move just about anyone as he rebuilds the organization in his image. So after already dealing Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras and Brendan Donovan this offseason, there’s no reason to think Bloom would stop if the right offer was made for JoJo Romero.”
Romero, 29, was absolutely filthy out of the Cardinals’ bullpen last season, posting a 2.07 ERA in 65 appearances. He’s got an ERA of exactly 3.00 in 171 innings over the last four years since he arrived in St. Louis.
Because he’ll be a free agent after the season, Romero is someone the Cardinals will almost certainly move at some point. The question is whether St. Louis will do it soon or wait until prices for relievers potentially go up at the trade deadline, and whether the Blue Jays will emerge as the most aggressive suitors.
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