Better know you Blue Jays 40-man: Matt Gage

Matt Gage is a left-handed reliever. He turns 30 on February 11th and got his first MLB action this past season. He came to us as a minor league free agent signing last off-season.

He pitched in 11 games, 13 innings, allowing 6 hits, 2 earned (with 2 unearned), 1 home run, 6 walks and 12 strikeouts. That all added up to a 1.38 ERA. Batters hit just .146/.265/.244 against him.

Matt has two more option years left, which means he’s worth more than he’ll be paid. As a long-time player of OOTP Baseball, I love relievers with options.

In Buffalo, he pitched in 41 games, 42.1 innings, with a 2.34 ERA. He allowed 30 hits, 1 home run, 16 walks and 46 strikeouts (27.4% strikeout rate).

He is pretty much a two-pitch pitcher. Fourseam fastball (averaged 92.7 mph) and cutter (86.9 mph).

I’d imagine he’ll have much the same role as last year, one of the guys who comes up when we need a rested arm in the pen and gets sent back down when his arm is no longer rested. He was called up four times last year.

But who knows? Gage and Mayza are the only lefty relievers on the Jays' 40-man roster (unless you count Kikuchi), and Matt, if he has a good spring, has an outside shot at sticking around as a second lefty in the pen. Last year he was very good and likely deserves better.

You do have to hope the best for Gage. He’s pitched in the minors since 2014, and the Jays are his fifth organization. I always cheer for guys that just keep at it.

Steamer figures he’ll get into 21 MLB games this year with a 3.88 ERA.

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