'I want to be boring,' says reliable Rogers -- and that's just fine with Blue Jays

TORONTO -- For certain players, boring is beautiful.

Tyler Rogers doesn’t want to be the player we’re talking about the next morning. That’s a job for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or George Springer, Kevin Gausman or Dylan Cease. In the bullpen, closers and 100-mph relievers are meant to excite you, but that’s not everyone’s job.

Think of Rogers like a punter in the NFL. If we’re talking about him the next day, it’s probably because something went wrong. Rogers hasn’t left many openings for that, though. For the past five seasons, he’s been one of the most dependable relievers in Major League Baseball, the rubber-armed submariner who just gets outs.

“When we signed him, I called him and we were having a little back and forth,” manager John Schneider said. “We talked about his kids, his brother, and he was just like, ‘Skip, if you talk to me too much, it means I’m not doing my job. I want to be boring. I don’t want to talk to you for a couple weeks at a time. I’m low maintenance.’”

When the Blue Jays gave Rogers a three-year, $37 million deal (with a club option for a fourth), it wasn’t their flashiest move of the offseason, but it was one of their best. Rogers is 35, but given his track record and pitching style, that’s no concern.

Rogers is just going to keep doing what he did in the Blue Jays’ opener on Friday, which is to pitch a scoreless eighth inning. What an excellent fit, too, in front of the hard-throwing Jeff Hoffman and alongside the even harder-throwing Louis Varland.

“It’s a different look to our bullpen and plays into our defensive strengths on the infield, too,” Schneider said. “I feel really at ease when he’s out there.”

There was another important piece of Rogers’ stat line in the opener, too. You might not care about it, but he certainly does.

Rogers picked up a hold, his first of the season. In each of the previous two seasons, Rogers had 32 holds. Relievers earn a hold when they enter a game in a save situation and “hold” the lead for their team, which Rogers did on Friday, entering with a 2-1 lead in the eighth and holding that for the ninth.

“He said he wants to be the all-time holds leader, which is about as reliever-ish as you can get,” Schneider said. “I think today he said he was 94 away from Paul Quantrill, Mike Timlin. I didn’t know any hold leaders until he told me about that.”

Most relievers are obsessed with velocity and saves. That’s where the money is.

“I’ll try to get him as many holds as I can,” Schneider said, still grinning. “I don’t think he needs arbitration. He got paid.”

Bullpens need balance. While a bullpen full of eight Louis Varlands sounds like a fun experiment, it just wouldn’t work. The Blue Jays need the balance of Rogers alongside their power arms, just like they need the balance of Mason Fluharty’s funkier left-handed approach alongside Brendon Little’s role as the power lefty. This group fits together.

Rogers is still so rare, though, a reliever who embraces their setup role as an identity, not just a stepping stone to closing games. He’s Mr. Reliable, a manager’s dream in the seventh or eighth inning, and if things go the way he’s planned, we won’t be talking about him much.