How can Blue Jays best bolster the bullpen?

KANSAS CITY — Manager Charlie Montoyo was one mound visit away from needing to pitch the ninth inning himself on Wednesday afternoon after Yusei Kikuchi failed to survive the first inning. 

Kikuchi needed 45 pitches to trudge through two outs, walking four in the never-ending bottom of the first. That’s worrying in its own right, but what this truncated outing really exposed is a bullpen group that’s still developing, and likely in need of some reinforcements. 

“I’ll just speak to what [Kikuchi] did today, and he was not good today,” Montoyo said following the 8-4 loss to the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. “Last time he had problems like that, he regrouped and gave us four more innings after that. He just couldn’t do it today.”

This isn’t about the back end of the Blue Jays’ bullpen, at least not yet. Closer Jordan Romano has already saved 16 games while Adam Cimber and Yimi Garcia remain very stable options in the seventh and eighth innings. David Phelps has quietly been one of the more valuable players on this roster, too, a perfect fit in this back-end group.

Instead, the focus should be on Toronto’s middle and long relievers. That’s a picture that’s changed significantly since Ross Stripling moved into the rotation to replace Hyun Jin Ryu, which could be a long-term assignment given Ryu’s elbow and forearm issues.

Trent Thornton quickly became “the long man” in Stripling’s absence, so naturally, he was first out of the bullpen to pick up the pieces for Kikuchi. Thornton went 2 1/3 scoreless innings to keep his team in the game, earning him more looks going forward, but there’s still plenty of room to improve around him in that bulk role.

Stripling’s move to the rotation also leaves the rotation depth a bit thin outside of the core five, but general manager Ross Atkins’ view of that group could also lend some hints to long relief possibilities.

“Right now, probably Thomas Hatch,” Atkins said, asked who the next starter in line would be. “We’re open to thinking of different ways. Casey Lawrence has obviously been very, very good for us, and Maximo Castillo has been awesome down in Triple-A. There’s different ways to think about that.”

Hatch has certainly pitched much better of late with Buffalo, and beyond the names mentioned, the Blue Jays have Jeremy Beasley, who was recently optioned but can provide length. Still, no name in the organization brings a fraction of the intrigue that Nate Pearson does.

Pearson has traveled a long road back from mononucleosis and last pitched on June 2 down in Triple-A, throwing 25 pitches over two innings. The No. 1 prospect shine has worn off Pearson, largely due to a terrible string of luck with injuries, but if he’s ever able to work back into a bulk role and give the Blue Jays a version of a supercharged Stripling, he could be incredibly valuable.

“He’s just being built back up,” Atkins said. “Once he’s in that mix, from a workload standpoint, it would be great to have him back in there.”

Pearson is tantalizing not just for his talent, headlined by that fastball that’s touched 100 mph so many times in the past, but because of one flicker of dominance we saw a year and a half ago.

In Game 2 of the 2020 AL Wild Card Series, when the Blue Jays faced the Rays following the shortened season, Pearson came out of the bullpen soon after Ryu was roughed up. He dazzled, throwing two perfect innings with five strikeouts, but he’s thrown just 45 2/3 innings since, leaving that outing to fade from memory.

Toronto’s middle relief group is facing some problems too, though. Left-hander Andrew Vasquez left Wednesday’s game with the help of trainers after injuring his right foot or ankle covering first base. Trevor Richards allowed three runs over 1 1/3 innings in his appearance, growing his ERA to 5.68.

This is a part of the bullpen that the Blue Jays addressed in 2021, both with the trade for Richards and another for Cimber, who’s since grown into a more high-leverage role. There are young arms on the way, most notably No. 18 prospect Adrian Hernandez, who owns a 0.60 ERA with 22 strikeouts over 15 innings in Triple-A. Hernandez is just 22, though, and this is a club with World Series aspirations.

It’s clear where this is all headed. The Aug. 2 Trade Deadline will be a pivotal moment for the Blue Jays, but just like last year, they can look to jump out ahead. Last season, Cimber was acquired on June 29 and Richards on July 6, dates that are fast approaching this summer.