Players who performed outstanding last year, such as Robbie Ray (bWAR 6.8 in the 2021 season), Marcus Simian (bWAR 7.3 in the 2021 season), and Stephen Matz (bWAR 2.0 in the 2021 season), left the team. However, Toronto quickly began to reorganize its power. Starting with an extended contract with Berrios (7 years, 130 million), Kevin Gasman (5 years, 110 million) and Kikuchi Yusei (3 years, 36 million) filled the starting rotation. Also, by bringing third baseman Matt Chapman (29) from Oakland, he completely filled the void in the infield. Since the growth of existing players was also progressing rapidly, Toronto, which was evaluated for excellent pitching balance, emerged as a strong candidate for the 2022 season.
The opening game against Texas is still unforgettable. Opening day starter Jose Berrios (0.1 innings, 4 runs) collapsed in the early stages, and Toronto trailed 7-0 until the 4th inning. Toronto this season felt different. In fact, Toronto led the American League with 12 wins and 6 losses (.667) until April 27th. However, Toronto’s rise ended there. His batting line was impeccable with 3rd in AL in scoring (428) and 2nd in AL in OPS (.759) in the first half, but his pitching staff was weaker than expected with 8th in team ERA (3.97). As the results did not come out as expected, the club sacked coach Montoyo (46-42) ahead of the game on July 14th.
Toronto, which was replaced by Schneider’s acting system, recorded 70-59 (.543) until August, only two games behind Baltimore (68-61), which ranked fourth in the district. However, from September to the end of the season, he ran 22-11 (.667). It surpassed 90 wins for two consecutive years and advanced to the postseason for the first time since 2016, excluding the shortened season. The goal was to win the division, but the Yankees (99-63) had excellent momentum, and the Eastern District team excluding Boston (16-3) recorded a record of 27-30 (.474), which was lower than expected, so they were satisfied with advancing to the postseason. I had to.
The problem was the postseason. Toronto, which met Seattle in the wild card series, lost to Luis Castillo (7.1 scoreless innings) in the first game without using any power (0-4). Alec Manoa (5.2 innings, 4 runs), who started Game 1, was clearly exhausted. The second round was even more shocking. Toronto, which led 8-1 until the 5th inning, suffered a shocking comeback defeat after allowing 9 runs, and the fall baseball ended as it was. The problem was the defense and bullpen, which were unstable throughout the season. Toronto, which finished the season in vain, signed a 3+1 year contract with coach John Schneider (46-28), who finished the regular season brilliantly, and appointed former coach Don Mattingly as a bench coach. So far, the only major recruits are Chris Bassett (3 years, 63 million) and Kevin Kiermeyer (1 year, 9 million).
Bad: The opening rotation of Jose Berrios, Kevin Gazman, Hyunjin Ryu, Alec Manoa, and Yusei Kikuchi was rated as one of the best in the league. However, the season went differently than expected. It started with Ryu Hyun-jin’s (35) falling horse. Hyun-Jin Ryu, who suffered from an injury from the beginning of the season, underwent Tommy John surgery, ending the season against the White Sox on June 2nd. Ryu Hyun-jin, whose contract is last year next year, is expected to return in the second half.
At least Ryu Hyun-jin’s gap was filled with stripling (10-4, 3.01), but the problem was Berrios (28) and Kikuchi (31). Berrios, who signed a long-term contract (7 years, 103 million) before the season, was disappointing from the opening day and gave the worst record (12 wins, 7 losses, 5.23 ERA) this season. His 5.23 ERA was the lowest among 45 pitchers in regulation innings, and he allowed the most hits (199) in the league. A bigger problem is that there is no special rebound factor even when looking at various detailed indicators. 스포츠토토
With the rebound of Robbie Ray and Steven Matz, Toronto, which is confident in rewriting a left-handed pitcher, has brought in Kikuchi. However, Kikuchi failed to improve again this year by walking and avoiding home runs (ERA 5.25 in 20 starts). Eventually, he switched to the bullpen during the season, but his utilization in the bullpen was also vague (1.42 WHIP). The average combined annual salary of Ryu Hyun-jin (20 million), Berrios (18.71 million), and Kikuchi (12 million) exceeds $50 million.
The bullpen also had problems. Closer Jordan Romano (36 saves, ERA 2.11) was healthy, but there were not enough players to keep him in front. Reliance on a few pitchers, such as Adam Simber (2.80 ERA in 77 games) and Tim Mayja (3.14 ERA in 63 games), left the rest of the season weaker as the season progressed, resulting in postseason catastrophe. It was also disappointing that Nate Pearson (26), who became a cyber pitcher due to an injury, and Julian Meriweather (ERA 6.75 in 26 games), who showed potential as a top-class finisher, were sluggish.