The Blue Jays announced Thursday that right-hander Bowden Francis has been placed on the 15-day injured list with right forearm extensor tendinitis. Left-hander Brendon Little was recalled in a corresponding move.
At first glance, the loss of Francis might not seem to be too significant since he was operating as the club’s long reliever. However, when combined with other details, it highlights the thin starting depth for the Jays.
The club has a strong five-man rotation at the moment in Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt, Yusei Kikuchi and Yariel Rodriguez. The latter is the least established of that bunch but he has looked solid so far, with a 3.86 earned run average through his first three starts, striking out 28.8 percent of batters faced.
But with Francis now on the shelf, it’s unclear who the club would turn to if any of those five suffered an injury. Mitch White was in the mix earlier this year but he was recently squeezed off the roster and traded to the Giants, so he’s no longer an option.
Alek Manoah is theoretically a possibility, but the Jays likely aren’t too excited about turning to him again. He was a borderline ace in 2021 and 2022 but struggled badly last year, with his ERA ticking up to 5.87. Here in 2024, he started the season on the injured list due to right shoulder inflammation.
He has been on a rehab assignment in the minors in recent weeks but hasn’t looked great, having allowed 18 earned runs in 13 2/3 innings. Reading the stat line on a rehab assignment can’t always tell you everything since a pitcher might simply be focused on getting the ball over the plate and staying healthy while caring less about the results.
However, Scott Mitchell of TSN relays that the eye test was also not good during Manoah’s outing for Buffalo Wednesday night, with his velocity noticeably down.
Prospect Ricky Tiedemann had been throwing in Triple-A and could have been considered an option until recently, but he was sent for an MRI due to some discomfort in his throwing elbow. It’s still unclear what the next steps are for him but his last appearance was two weeks ago.
For now, the rotation is in alright shape but injuries are fairly inevitable. Even if everyone stays healthy, Rodriguez might hit a wall at some point. He didn’t pitch at all last year after the World Baseball Classic, as he didn’t return to his team in Japan while trying to be declared a free agent.
Even before that mostly dormant season, he was working as a reliever in NPB and will be challenged to suddenly shoulder a starter’s workload for all of 2024.
With Francis and Tiedemann hurt, White gone and Manoah struggling, the Jays will have to think about who is next up. Paolo Espino is on the 40-man roster but he is a 37-year-old journeyman. Adam Macko is also on the roster but he’s not yet reached Triple-A and only has three Double-A starts on his track record.
Given the sudden subtraction of depth, the Jays will likely keep a close eye on the waiver wire or perhaps make a small trade to add some veteran depth. If they want to turn to free agency, guys like Rich Hill and Noah Syndergaard are still out there, though they would need a few weeks to get into game shape after missing spring training.
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