The Toronto Blue Jays are turning to a bullpen game today against the Yankees, and Braydon Fisher has been named the starter.
John Schneider confirmed Simeon Woods Richardson will also be part of the plan, giving Toronto multiple arms to cover innings in a game that's already been expected to unfold this way given recent rotation injuries.
Fisher has carried real bullpen value all season, posting a 4.00 ERA across 52 appearances and 54 innings, with 53 strikeouts showing genuine swing-and-miss ability out of relief.
Using him as an opener represents a real departure from his usual middle relief role, but his ability to miss bats makes him a reasonable option to face the top of a dangerous Yankees lineup right out of the gate.
Woods Richardson, recently added to the roster, gives Schneider another fresh arm to turn to as the game progresses, part of a broader effort to manage an already taxed bullpen carefully.
Toronto sits at 53-60, last in the American League East, in the middle of a stretch that's included the Rays and now the Yankees, exactly the kind of matchups that make bullpen management especially important right now.
Why this approach makes sense given the current rotation crunch
With Trey Yesavage and Jameson Taillon both out due to injury, Toronto has been forced into bullpen games more frequently than it would like, spreading the workload across multiple relievers instead of relying on a single traditional starter.
Pairing Fisher's swing-and-miss ability with Woods Richardson's fresh arm gives Schneider real flexibility to match up favorably against New York's lineup as the game unfolds.
It's a bit like splitting a long shift between two capable employees instead of asking one person to handle the entire day alone.
Does this bullpen game approach give Toronto a real shot against a lineup as strong as the Yankees, or does it simply reflect how thin this rotation has become with the season's stretch run underway?
Fisher gets the ball first today, and how he handles New York's order early will set the tone for how the rest of this bullpen day unfolds.
Do you like the Blue Jays using a bullpen game with Braydon Fisher and Simeon Woods Richardson against the Yankees?
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