The Toronto Blue Jays are in a weird spot when it comes to Tommy Nance.
There are only a handful of spots available in the bullpen, as Jeff Hoffman, Tyler Rogers, Yimi García, Louis Varland, Brendon Little, and Braydon Fisher all have locked down a spot in the 2026 bullpen. Add in the fact that José Berríos and Eric Lauer are both expected to pitch out of the bullpen, and you can see there won’t be many spots available, if any at all.
Of course, injuries happen and Fisher and Little have options next year, so the bullpen isn’t quite set in stone. But there’s going to be a ton of competition for whatever spots remain. Both Spencer Miles and Angel Bastardo have to make the Opening Day roster or be offered back to their former team.
Moreover, Tommy Nance is out of option years in 2026. That will pose some problems.
Last season, there were just 14 pitchers with 30 or more innings pitched out of the bullpen with an ERA below 2. Both Lauer and Fisher are on that list, as is Rogers, who’ll make his debut next season. Matt Svanson, a former Blue Jays’ farmhand, also ranks on that list, as does Nance.
The 2025 season was a very under-the-radar type of season for the 34-year-old. Before the season began, he was designated for assignment as he was out of option years, but no team picked him up. Nance was re-added to the 40-man roster and called up to the big league roster in mid-July last season.
Over the course of 31.2 innings pitched, Nance authored a 1.99 ERA. Was it a product of the defence behind him? Probably not, as Nance’s FIP of 1.87 was even lower. That was thanks to not giving up a home run, while walking seven batters (5.6 BB%) and striking out 32 batters (25.4%).
There are levels to a sub-2.00 ERA, though. Last season, Rogers had a 1.98 ERA and 2.88 FIP in 77.1 innings pitched. Not only did the submarine pitcher do it over a much larger sample size, he also did it in higher pressure situations. Rogers finished with 32 holds, with just two blown saves and of those 77.1 innings pitched, 15 of them were considered high-leverage.
All but 7.2 innings Nance threw were in low-leverage. In his three innings of high-leverage, Nance gave up two earned runs, and four in total. Does that give Nance no value? Absolutely not, every team needs a reliever that can pitch in low-leverage situations in a blow out. But he’s lower than guys like Fisher and Varland in the circle of trust.
As good as Nance performed in 2025, making the Blue Jays’ Opening Day roster an uphill battle for the 34-year-old solely because of his lack of options. He’ll either need to out-pitched players with options, such as Fisher or Little, or injuries will have to occur. Unlike last season, Nance would be claimed off waivers if he’s designated for assignment, so that isn’t a choice for the Blue Jays.
Either way, it’ll be interesting to see what happens with Nance this around the end of March.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.