Blue Jays Acquire Anthony Bass, Zach Pop From Marlins

The Blue Jays have acquired two relievers from the Marlins for prospect Jordan Groshans.

Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports

Bullpen help is on the way.

The Blue Jays have acquired right-handed relievers Anthony Bass, Zach Pop, and a player to be named later from the Marlins in exchange for infield prospect Jordan Groshans. The trade was first reported by Sportsnet's Shi Davidi and has since been confirmed by the team.

Bass has quietly been one of baseball's most reliable relievers over the last five years, with a 3.09 ERA in 195 innings for four different franchises, including a stop in Toronto (actually Buffalo). In his age 34 season, Bass shows no signs of stopping either. He has the 15th-best FIP among qualified relievers in 2022 (2.04), just behind dominant closers like Craig Kimbrel and Emmanual Clase. Toronto will have a $3 million team option on Bass for the 2023 season.

Pop has a 3.60 ERA in 20 innings this season, flashing mainly a sinker and slider. While his strikeout numbers aren't elite (6.3 K/9), the Brampton native has been one of the best in baseball at limiting walks and homers in 2022. The 25-year-old has also spent a chunk of time in Triple A this season, recording a 2.22 ERA in 24.1 innings for the Marlins' highest minor league affiliate. He can remain under team control until 2027.

Groshans was Toronto's first-round pick in the 2018 draft and had scaled the Blue Jays' farm system up to Triple A in 2022. In 67 games for the Bisons this year, he hit .250 with a .348 on-base percentage but notched just nine extra-base hits.

The Blue Jays have been searching for bullpen help for most of the season, looking to complement the core of Jordan Romano, Yimi García, Tim Mayza, and others. Though Toronto rosters five regular relievers with ERAs below 3.1, they still have the sixth-worst 'pen FIP in baseball and a high leverage ERA of 5.54. It was clear Toronto needed a few more reliable relievers, and Bass and Pop will bring that.