Signing Reliever Ronald Belisario Makes Sense for Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays have signed reliever Ronald Belisario to a minor league deal, per Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The right-handed Belisario will receive an invite to spring training and will receive $1.7 million if he breaks camp with Toronto, per Bowden (via Twitter).

Toronto’s relief corps finished 25th in the majors in bullpen ERA last season. While they’ve overhauled the rest of the roster, the Blue Jays haven’t done much to address their bullpen woes this offseason (besides trading for swingman Marco Estrada). This is why signing Belisario could end up making a lot of sense for Toronto.

Let’s start off by making one thing clear here: Belisario is clearly a depth signing. Looking at traditional numbers, he did not have a very good season in 2014, posting a 5.56 ERA in 66.1 innings pitched while blowing four saves in 12 chances.

On the flip side, advanced stats show that Belisario may have gotten unlucky in several areas last season which inflated his ERA.

According to FanGraphs, the 32-year-old’s FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) in 2014 was a very respectable 3.52. Opposing hitters also had a batting average on balls in play (BABIP) of .339 against him.

These two stats show us that even when Belisario made a good pitch last season, opposing hitters often managed to put the ball in play for a hit against him. Considering that Belisario’s career BABIP is .288, expect him to give up fewer hits in 2015 as his BABIP likely normalizes.

The Blue Jays also don’t have to worry about Belisario struggling in the hitter-friendly Rogers Centre. While the reliever gave up 78 hits last season, only four of those went out for a home run. That combined with his solid ground ball percentage of 59.3% should mean that Belisario won’t really be negatively impacted by the Rogers Centre’s confines the way a fly-ball pitcher might.

It’s also worth noting that Belisario has the quality stuff usually required from a high-leverage reliever. According to FanGraphs' PITCHf/x, he averaged 94.7 mph on his fastball last season and topped out as high as 96.5 mph. Belisario also displayed decent control of his pitches, walking only 18 batters.

Finally, let’s take a quick look at Belisario’s prior pitching history aside from his poor 2014 season. Between the 2012 and 2013 seasons, he posted a 3.24 ERA with 118 strikeouts in 139 innings pitched.

The Blue Jays would love to take those numbers, especially from a reliever they signed to a minor league deal for very little money. Belisario will also be arbitration eligible following the 2015 season, so Toronto will still have club control over him in 2016 if he does have a bounce-back season. If it doesn’t work out, Toronto can simply walk away without committing any more money.

Now, it’ll be up to Belisario to show up to spring training in good shape and try to win a spot in the Blue Jays’ bullpen.

All stats are courtesy of FanGraphs.