What’s supposed to be the most clear strength for the Blue Jays is suddenly a question mark.
Alek Manoah was roughed up for four earned runs in his first Grapefruit League start last week and missed his next outing because of shoulder soreness. Yariel Rodriguez, the team’s most expensive off-season signing and the ideal option to fill in for Manoah as the fifth starter if needed, is dealing with back spasms and hasn’t yet thrown a pitch for the Blue Jays.
Expected Opening Day starter Kevin Gausman also hasn’t made a Grapefruit League start yet. He was supposed to throw a live bullpen session on Monday, but that was put on hold after Gausman’s shoulder felt fatigued following a previous throwing session last week.
Manager John Schneider optimistically interpreted the team’s pitching situation, noting that both Gausman and Manoah are still on schedule with their ramp-ups and that options are available to navigate potential injuries.
“If they hadn’t really started (ramping up), you could say it’s disruptive,” Schneider told Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. “I think now it’s more just seeing how you feel every single day and going from there. Luckily right now, it’s not a full-blown re-ramp up. Whenever you get off-schedule, it’s a pain in the a-- a bit for them, for Pete (Walker, the pitching coach), for all of us. But, hopefully, it’s not (a major issue). We’re just taking it day by day.”
“There’s a lot of options,” Schneider said. “And again, there’s no injury there. It’s just based on how he’s feeling … but, yeah, there’s definitely a lot of different options on the table.”
Bowden Francis and Mitch White have both been throwing well so far in Spring Training and are solid options to fill in at the back of the rotation, but not having Gausman for any period of time would be a very difficult obstacle for the Blue Jays.
Since signing with the Blue Jays ahead of the 2022 season, Gausman hasn’t had a stint on the Injured List. He pulled out of last summer’s All-Star game because he had reached a career-high in innings pitched by the Midsummer Classic and missed one regular season start before jumping back into the rotation.
The right-hander finished third in American League Cy Young voting last year after posting a 3.16 ERA over 185 innings while also leading the league with 237 strikeouts. The Blue Jays boast a deep rotation with Jose Berrios, Yusei Kikuchi, and Chris Bassitt, but Gausman is the ace who’s able to go head-to-head with any pitcher in baseball consistently. Without Gausman, the pressure on those other three arms gets considerably higher.
Again, both White and Francis are solid options to slide into Manoah’s place in the rotation, but obviously neither can be expected to replace Gausman. If the Blue Jays have any uncertainty that their ace won’t be ready to start the season, they should make an addition to make their rotation deeper.
In most years, you wouldn’t be able to find a high-quality pitcher unsigned a week into March. This year, agent Scott Boras lost a staring contest with a whole bunch of teams who really didn’t want to spend money and two very good arms are still on the free agent market.
Both Reigning National League Cy Young winner Blake Snell and 2023 World Series Champions Jordan Montgomery are available. Like their Boras Four cousins Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman, they’re probably going to have to wind up signing very different contracts than the ones they were expecting back in November.
The Blue Jays weren’t able to land Bellinger or Chapman on a pillow contract in the aftermath of this waiting game, but they can still make an addition that helps the team. The whole plan is built around having a very good starting rotation, and things can get ugly quickly if injuries start to pile up.
Adding some high-quality depth wouldn’t hurt, especially if it doesn’t involve the risk of a long-term commitment. Sending a clear message to the fans that the team is actually serious about winning rather than backing into a playoff spot would probably help fill those luxury seats, as well.
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