The Toronto Blue Jays face a clear need for starting pitching help at the trade deadline, but not every available arm makes sense for their situation.
FanSided’s Chris Landers identifies one potential mismatch: Freddy Peralta from the New York Mets. The right-hander’s track record speaks for itself, but there’s a catch that could make Toronto a problematic landing spot.
Peralta simply doesn’t eat innings.
“But for as good as he’s been throughout his career, he has one glaring hole in his profile: an inability to pitch deep into games. Peralta has pitched beyond the fifth inning in just seven of his 12 starts so far this season, a trend that’s held true in prior years as well.”
That’s where Toronto’s bullpen issues come into play. The Blue Jays don’t exactly have the depth to handle a starter who regularly hands the ball over after five innings.
What makes this particularly challenging is the state of Toronto’s relief corps. Beyond new closer Louis Varland and veteran Tyler Rogers, the Blue Jays don’t have many reliable high-leverage options.
“If you’re going to get the most out of Peralta, you need to have a deep and reliable bullpen behind him to pick up the slack. The Blue Jays are … neither of those things right now.”
Still, we’re talking about a legitimately talented pitcher here. Peralta has topped 200 strikeouts in each of the past three seasons and finished fifth in last year’s NL Cy Young voting. Those aren’t numbers you dismiss lightly.
The way I see it, Toronto would be smart to at least explore what a Peralta trade might look like. Sometimes fit issues can be worked around, especially when you’re dealing with a pitcher of his caliber.
But the bullpen concern is real. If you’re already stretched thin in relief, adding a starter who consistently needs early help might create more problems than it solves.
