Return to Toronto: Yarbrough’s Return Would Bolster Blue Jay’s Pitching

One benefit of unloading all your would-be free agents at the trade deadline is you don’t have to worry about re-signing said players when they walk out the door.

The Toronto Blue Jays traded all their pending free agents ahead of the trade deadline, but they also acquired one player who was slated for free agency this winter: Ryan Yarbrough. The headline was Kevin Kiermaier going over to the Los Angeles Dodgers to finish his career chasing a World Series ring but the acquisition of Yarbrough flew under the radar.

He’s free to sign with any team now, but the Blue Jays may have been putting in some legwork earlier in the year to convince Yarbrough to become part of the bullpen solution in 2025. Let’s examine how he fared in 2024, his contract details, and whether he makes sense for the Blue Jays.

Ryan Yarbrough in 2024

This was the first year of Yarbrough’s career where he pitched exclusively out of the bullpen, and his overall numbers were decent. With a pitcher of his ilk, you won’t see blistering strikeout numbers (his fastball averages 86.2 MPH), but Yarbrough is a master at limiting hard contact.

Similar to Génesis Cabrera and Chad Green, Yarbrough’s peripheral 3.19 ERA on the season looks fine, but his expected ERA of 4.20 was over a run higher and his FIP sat at 4.64. His 16.3% strikeout rate was the lowest of his career and his 8% walk rate matched a career high.

But in a Blue Jays uniform, Yarbrough’s strikeout rate shot up to 22.2% and he trimmed his walk rate down to 6%. He also changed his pitch mix after arriving in Toronto, nearly abandoning his cutter and upping his fastball usage from 17.3% with the Dodgers to 31.4% with the Blue Jays. The 32-year-old made multi-inning appearances in 8 of his 12 games with the Blue Jays, even being the “bulk guy” on several occasions. Yarbrough’s most impressive game with the Blue Jays was his 5-inning outing where he struck out 5 and gave up only 3 hits against the LA Angels.

Interestingly, he dropped his arm angle down to 13 degrees, the lowest slot Yarbrough’s worked from in his entire career. It’s the fifth-lowest arm angle for a left-hander in the big leagues (slightly behind Chris Sale).

Pitching coach Pete Walker spoke highly of Yarbrough in a piece from Shi Davidi of Sportsnet earlier this year: “I’ve enjoyed watching him from a distance in the past and now seeing him on our side, I realize how valuable he is to a rotation and a bullpen. For me, he’s like the glue between the cracks.”

Yarbrough’s contract details

The Los Angeles Dodgers avoided arbitration ahead of the 2024 season and signed Yarbrough to a deal worth $3.9 million. The Blue Jays paid for $1.3 million on the back end of the contract after they acquired him at the trade deadline. He’s testing free agency for the first time in his career this winter.

Spotrac puts Yarbrough’s market value at $4.5 million with a prediction for a two-year/$9.09 million contract in free agency. Because he’s got lots in the tank heading into his age-33 season, I think that valuation might be a little low, and Yarbrough should fetch an AAV of $5 million on a multi-year deal.