Blue Jays working through series of pitching injuries

The Blue Jays will place closer Jordan Romano and setup man Erik Swanson on the injured list to begin the season, manager John Schneider announced to reporters Wednesday (X thread via Shi Davidi of Sportsnet). Right-hander Alek Manoah is also likely headed to the 15-day IL, the manager added, though it seems that’ll just be to allow him some extra time to continue building up after he was slowed by shoulder trouble earlier in camp. Manoah tossed 34 pitches in a simulated game Wednesday and will continue to build from there. Righties Nate Pearson and Wes Parsons will open the season on the big league roster in place of Romano and Swanson.

Both Romano and Swanson recently underwent MRIs after experiencing some discomfort, neither of which revealed structural damage. Romano has some inflammation in his elbow, while Swanson is dealing with some tightness in his forearm. Neither is expected to miss significant time, but it’s nonetheless a blow to the Jays’ bullpen in the early stages of the season.

Romano, 31 next month, has become a powerhouse at the back of the Toronto ’pen. Over the past four seasons, he’s pitched to a 2.29 ERA (3.13 FIP, 3.14 SIERA) with a gaudy 30.8% strikeout rate against a 9.2% walk rate. Last year’s K-BB% wasn’t quite as dominant as in the prior three seasons, but Romano’s 17.1% swinging-strike rate was a flat-out elite mark that hints at a potential “rebound” in strikeout rate (as much as anyone needs to “rebound” from a generally excellent 29% mark in that regard). The right-hander also tied a career-high with 36 saves.

The 30-year-old Swanson, acquired from the Mariners in last offseason’s Teoscar Hernandez trade, would’ve been the favorite to step into closing duties for Romano were he healthy. He posted a 2.97 ERA in his first season with the Jays and carries a terrific 2.60 earned run average (3.04 FIP, 3.07 SIERA) over the past three seasons. During that time, Swanson has punched out 29.4% of his opponents against a very strong 6.7% walk rate.

With Romano and Swanson shelved to begin the year, closing duties will presumably fall to veteran Yimi Garcia. Setup options include Chad Green, the aforementioned Pearson, lefty Tim Mayza and fellow southpaw Genesis Cabrera. The Jays still have a decent group of relievers, but any team’s bullpen is going to look a little dicey when subtracting its two clear best relievers, as is the case in Toronto.

As for the rotation, Manoah is slotted into the No. 5 spot as he looks to rebound from last year’s nightmarish season. The Jays were concerned for a bit that staff ace Kevin Gausman would also require an IL stint, but it seems he’s progressed enough to avoid that fate. They’ll still open the season with Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt and Yusei Kikuchi starting the first three games, but Gausman will be in line for the fourth or fifth game. He just pitched in a final spring tune-up outing Monday and thus won’t be sufficiently rested for an Opening Day nod.

With Manoah out, righty Bowden Francis will get the rotation nod to begin the season. He’s already been confirmed for the roster – his first career Opening Day roster spot – and will look to build on last year’s impressive rookie showing. The 27-year-old tossed 36 1/3 frames of 1.73 ERA ball with plus strikeout and walk rates (25.7% and 5.9%, respectively) over the life of 20 relief appearances. Francis has typically been a starter in the minors, so an early rotation role will be plenty familiar for him. He could be the first man up in the rotation throughout the early portion of the season if the Jays incur injuries on the staff, though top prospect Ricky Tiedemann will also likely make his big league debut at some point this season.