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Toronto Blue Jays Yariel Rodriguez receiving a lot of praise in latest update
Photo credit: Stephen Brashear / Just Baseball
The Toronto Blue Jays had one of the league's weakest bullpens last season, but in 2025 they've significantly revamped it into a more competitive unit.
While several new additions have bolstered their relief corps, a few returning names have also stepped up, none more notably than reliever Yariel Rodriguez, who's shown major improvement over last year.
Cuban star emerges as elite bullpen weapon for Toronto.
Ethan Hyatt from Just Baseball writes that Rodriguez joined the Blue Jays as an international free agent ahead of the 2024 season, signing a five-year, $32 million contract. After splitting time between starting and relieving during his rookie campaign, the 2025 season has seen him settle into a full-time bullpen role, and he's thrived in it.
"He had a bumpy rookie year but wasn't necessarily one of the worst arms in Toronto's 'pen. Rodriguez went 1-8 with a 4.47 ERA across 21 starts and 86.2 innings of work, but there were still four other pitchers on the team who pitched 40+ innings and had a higher ERA than Rodriguez. For the most part, his rookie struggles can be blamed on his inexperience with MLB-caliber competition, as he was signed as an international free agent following a stint in Japan's NPB for the Chunichi Dragons. In his last season in NPB, he went 6-2 with a fabulous 1.18 ERA and a WHIP of 0.915, so it's easy to see why Toronto chose to take a chance on him at the MLB level." -Hyatt
In his final season in Japan, Rodriguez earned the NPB Central League's Most Valuable Setup Man Award for his exceptional performance. However, he still faced an adjustment period upon transitioning to the MLB.
Although he competed against top talent in NPB, the jump form Japan's league to MLB is often considered even bigger than moving up from Triple-A to the majors.
"While Rodriguez was primarily used in his rookie season as a starter, it was always in the cards that his stuff might work better out of a long-relief or bullpen role. He's shown this season that his skillset is put on better display in higher-leverage outings from the 'pen." -Hyatt
Rodriguez has delivered his strongest outings this season during the Blue Jays' most crucial moments. In recent weeks, he's been one of the most dependable relievers in the league, highlighted by an impressive 16.2-inning scoreless streak in May.
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JUIN 24 | 1634 ANSWERS Toronto Blue Jays Yariel Rodriguez receiving a lot of praise in latest update Is Yariel Rodriguez Toronto's most valuable pitcher? | ||
| yes | 665 | 40.7 % |
| no | 969 | 59.3 % |
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