Blue Jays interested in Jerry Blevins

The Blue Jays may have interest in signing free agent left-handed relief pitcher Jerry Blevins. Toronto recently lost their own late-inning southpaw when Brett Cecil signed with the Cardinals.

In two seasons with the Mets, Jerry Blevins has been excellent, with a 2.49 ERA and a 2.89 FIP over 47 innings. He struck out 56 and walked only 15 in that span. Over his ten-year career, the 33-year-old has 3.44 ERA and a 3.58 FIP, with 361 strikeouts and 133 walks over 371.1 innings. He has been particularly effective against left-handed hitters, who have hit a combined .214/.266/.322 against him over his career.

Losing Blevins would be a blow to the Mets’ bullpen, as the Ohio native was easily the team’s most accomplished left-handed reliever. If he does find a new home, the Mets could look to fill his production through a combination of Josh Edgin, Josh Smoker, Sean Gilmartin, or a potential free-agent acquisition.

Blevins was originally acquired via trade with the Nationals in exchange for Matt Den Dekker before the 2015 season. After missing most of the 2015 season with a fractured left arm, he was re-signed for the 2016 season. Perhaps most importantly, for most of his Mets tenure, Jerry Blevins used a shoddily-made MS paint picture, created by our very own Steve Schreiber, as his Twitter avatar.