TORONTO -- It's the price the Blue Jays are willing to pay, and a risk they're willing to take.

Toronto has been able to increase its payroll in each of the past two offseasons, but the club still has its financial limitations. So, while the Jays have used lucrative contracts to strengthen their roster as a whole, the bullpen is one area that Toronto has kept relatively inexpensive.

The Blue Jays have their reasons for filtering their funds into different parts of the roster -- just ask the club's architect.

"I've always found the 'pen to be the most risky business," Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi said earlier this offseason. "It's probably the one mistake that most GMs make -- me included. You bank on a guy with a track record and he doesn't come through. Then you take a shot on a young guy and all of a sudden he does better."

This year, though, the Jays' inexpensive bullpen has them taking a shot on a young group -- not just one guy.

The elder of the relief corps is All-Star closer B.J. Ryan, who turned 30 in December. The six relievers who appear to be locks for bullpen jobs -- Ryan, Brandon League, Jason Frasor, Jeremy Accardo, Brian Tallet and Scott Downs -- have an average age of 27.8.

That average will likely drop even lower once Toronto identifies its seventh reliever, who will probably be one of a number of 20-somethings competing for the last bullpen spot this spring.

"The 'pen is young," Ricciardi said. "The one thing I like is that we do have some good arms. If we could just find the right roles for them, I think we'll be all right down there.

"I'd say the one area where you really roll the dice a lot of times is with middle relief."

Ryan is locked in his role as Toronto's closer. Before 2006, the 6-foot-6 left-hander signed a five-year, $47 million deal with the Jays. Ryan was then dominant in his first season out of the club's bullpen, posting a 1.37 ERA and notching a career-best 38 saves.

Toronto Blue Jays • Catchers: Zaun secures starting job • Corner IF: Glaus, Overbay in charge • Middle IF: Who will play with Hill? • Outfielders: Wells still the cornerstone • Starters: Competition for two spots • Bullpen: Risk could bring reward • DH/Bench: Big Hurt bolsters offense

The roles in front of Ryan are less certain. In 2006, the Jays had veteran setup man Justin Speier in the fold, but he signed a four-year deal with the Angels this offseason. With Speier out of the picture, Toronto plans on using the 23-year-old League as the main eighth-inning pitcher.

League had a breakout year in 2006. The right-hander, whose fastball regularly tops 100 mph, posted a 2.53 ERA in 33 appearances. Some of those outings came in eighth-inning situations when Speier was on the disabled list late in the year.

Besides League, Toronto can help bridge the gap to Ryan with right-handers Frasor and Accardo -- a hard-throwing pitcher who was picked up in a trade with the Giants in July. Frasor bounced between Triple-A and Toronto's 'pen in 2006, but he finished the season strong, posting a 2.68 ERA over his last 18 games with the Jays.

The Jays also have lefties Tallet, who posted a 3.98 ERA in 43 games, and Downs. Downs, who had a 2.77 ERA in relief, will likely fill the long-relief role, but he could also be utilized as an emergency spot starter.

"I thought Frasor pitched well. League pitched well. I thought Tallet did a good job for us and Downs did a great job," Ricciardi said. "Our 'pen is not lacking -- we're just trying to define roles."

Toronto will also try to avoid turning to the bullpen as much this year. Among American League bullpens, the Jays ranked first in strikeouts (451), tied for second in wins (26), fourth in opponents batting average (.246) and sixth in ERA (3.98).

The problem was that Toronto's relief corps also logged 529 innings -- the third most in the league. Various issues with the rotation forced the Jays to turn to their relievers earlier in games than the club would've preferred. Toronto has attempted to build up its rotation depth during the offseason to avoid a similar problem.

"Hopefully our starters will help us minimize how much we have to use everybody," Ricciardi said.

It's not clear right now who will emerge as the final member of Toronto's bullpen, either. A group of pitchers will vie for that job during Spring Training.

Right-handers Shaun Marcum, Josh Towers, Casey Janssen and Dustin McGowan will all be competing for starting jobs, but long-relief roles might not be out of the question if they don't make the rotation. That type of job might be considered more for Marcum and Towers than for Janssen or McGowan, who would both likely be sent to Triple-A to work as starters.

Left-hander Davis Romero and right-hander Francisco Rosario could also be in the running for a relief job. Romero, 23, posted a 3.86 ERA in seven appearances for Toronto in 2006. Rosario, who is out of options, had a 6.30 ERA in 16 games for the Jays.