The Blue Jays have been one of baseball’s most active teams thus far, adding Cody Ponce and Dylan Cease to their rotation. Now, add a reliever to that group. Tyler Rogers, one of the best “rubber arm” relievers in the game, is headed to the Blue Jays on a three-year deal.
A Look at Rogers
It’s not a shock as to why the Mets, who added impact relievers last summer to make a run for a playoff spot, targeted Tyler Rogers in the summer. Why? Rogers is a pitcher with no equal.
Rogers finished with the 16th-best .241 wOBA (.241) last season among relievers with 30 or more appearances. The veteran posted a stellar 1.98 ERA across a MLB-high 81 appearances last season. The right-hander was also one of the more reliable arms for the Mets over the final two months, as denoted by the 2.30 ERA.
As I noted in July when Rogers was traded to the Mets, there is no pitcher like Rogers. The right-hander throws a sinker in the mid-80s and a low-70s slider, hardly intimidating on paper. But what truly sets him apart is the submarine arm slot. It comes with an average arm angle of -61°, about as close to a right angle as can be achieved.
Because of the unique arm angle and, in turn, very unique pitch profile, it’s very difficult to get a read on Rogers. It’s why Rogers was rated among the top 10% of the league in Barrel% over the last five seasons. And with that sinker, he’ll regularly pound the zone, leading to high ground-ball rates and low walk totals.
The downside is that he won’t miss a lot of bats. Rogers had the fifth-lowest K/9 (5.6) in the Majors among relievers. The only pitchers with a lower K/9 were Zach Agnos, Ryan Rolison, John King, and the funky Yankees reliever Tim Hill.
Per the New York Times, the Blue Jays will give Tyler Rogers a three-year deal worth $37MM. It also comes with a vesting option that can turn it into a four-year deal worth $48MM.
Analysis
Different looks out of the bullpen can make a big difference, particularly for contenders. Look no further than the Dodgers’ championship team, which included a left-hander (Justin Wrobleski) who can throw it to the upper-90s, a high arm angle pitcher in Alex Vesia, and a closer (Roki Sasaki) who can throw it into the triple-digits. That’s just the tip of it.
Rogers adds a very unique look to a Blue Jays bullpen that can already give plenty of different looks, between hard-throwing reliever Louis Varland, Jeff Hoffman, a high arm angle pitcher, Braydon Fisher, and now, Tyler Rogers.
While he may not be a pitcher with significant closer experience, Rogers does check a big box. Toronto’s bullpen was going to look different, no matter what, as the team outrighted Yariel Rodriguez and lost Seranthony Dominguez to free agency.
Rogers fits well on paper, especially on a Blue Jays team with Andres Gimenez in the middle infield. And on top of that, he’s the kind of pitcher with experience working regularly. He’s proven to be durable, as he has at least 60+ appearances in each of the last five years.
The move also means another high-profile reliever comes off the board.
Check out more of our MLB coverage.