Which Blue Jays starting pitcher is best suited for a playoff bullpen role?

This leads me to believe the Blue Jays may leave him off the Wild Card or Division Series roster altogether. Unlike other starters in the rotation, Berrios hasn’t been missing bats as of late (he only had two whiffs total in 78 pitches during his last start) and putting the ball in play is a recipe for disaster for relievers in the playoffs.

His second-half FIP has shot up to 5.18, the second-highest of his career since his debut year in 2016. Berrios could come make a start in a longer series like an ALCS or World Series, but it’s hard to imagine Berrios cracking the early-round playoff rosters.

Chris Bassitt

Technically, Chris Bassitt already pitched in relief earlier this year during the A’s series in Sacramento, but that was only because he’d have a long layoff before the All-Star break and he was available, anyway. That was in a low-leverage situation, with the Blue Jays trailing 6-1, so there was little concern with the game getting out of hand with Bassitt on the mound.

As tempting as it might be to deploy a guy like Bassitt out of the bullpen, who has eight different pitches in his arsenal, this is someone who performs at his best out of the starting rotation. He could keep hitters off-balance in a short one- or two-inning stint, but there’s a reason teams use so few finesse pitchers in relief, rather than the starting rotation.

All three of Bassitt’s previous postseason appearances (two with the Athletics, one with the Mets) have been as a starting pitcher. That’s not to say he couldn’t adapt on the fly, but if the Blue Jays needed to get big outs, is Bassitt the best guy to go to over other existing members of the bullpen?

None of this matters if Bassitt isn’t healthy. He wouldn’t be eligible to return until a potential ALDS series, anyway.

Max Scherzer

After returning from his thumb nerve injury earlier this year guns-a-blazing, Max Scherzer appears to have hit a brick wall. His last start against the Tampa Bay Rays — seven earned runs in 0.02 innings of work — was the worst of his career. He had a great stretch from late July to mid-August with six consecutive quality starts, but ever since, Scherzer has not been sharp.

How much of that can be attributed to back issues, which forced him to exit from his start back on August 25 against the Brewers? It’s hard to discern if he’s still feeling the ill effects from that back tightness, but he went from an absolute lock in a potential Blue Jays playoff starting rotation to being on the bubble.

During the regular season, the 41-year-old hasn’t pitched in relief since his days as a Diamondback in 2008, but Scherzer pitched out of the bullpen for the Washington Nationals in 2017 and 2019 and with the Los Angeles Dodgers back in 2021. Despite the longest overall body of work, Scherzer is one of the few Blue Jays starters who have recently worked in relief in the postseason.

With a whiff rate at 23.4%, which is the lowest of his career, Scherzer doesn’t miss bats like he used to, but he can still throw gas, touching 96.1 MPH with his fastball, averaging 93.6 MPH on his heater. Because of his vast body of work and wealth of playoff experience, it would not shock me to see Scherzer working out of the Blue Jays’ bullpen.

It could even be in a piggyback scenario with another starter like Trey Yesavage, where either Scherzer starts and Yesavage follows, or vice versa. I’d lean towards letting Scherzer start and Yesavage being the next man up, but it all depends on matchups.

Kevin Gausman and Shane Bieber

Nope, not happening. They are unequivocally pitching out of the starting rotation.

Eric Lauer

Isn’t it wild how one of the first-half MVPs of the Blue Jays’ 2025 season has fallen by the wayside? Eric Lauer was a victim of the numbers game once the team acquired Bieber at the trade deadline, especially once the team promoted Yesavage last week.

Ever since moving to the bullpen at the end of August, Lauer has only been used sparingly in relief, but he’s posted some big outs for the Blue Jays. This past Sunday’s inning of scoreless relief in the eighth inning against the Royals was huge to help lock down the 8-5 win over Kansas City.

Lauer was also entrusted with a big spot back last Tuesday against the Rays, pitching 1.1 innings of scoreless relief with a pair of strikeouts. As a pitcher who has bounced back and forth from the rotation to the bullpen, he’s had the easiest transition over to his new role.

Plus, the fact that Lauer can act as the second lefty (possibly the third if they add Mason Fluharty) is another weapon for Schneider to have when it comes to plotting out late-game matchups against left-handed hitters or pockets of lefties in opposing lineups.

For many contending teams, Lauer would be a “nice to have” and not a necessity, but I think the versatility he has makes him an invaluable part of any Blue Jays pitching stable for the playoffs.

Trey Yesavage

This might be the most interesting name in the bunch. It’s only been two starts in the big leagues, but Yesavage has come as advertised. Even after his electric nine-strikeout debut in Tampa Bay last week, many were already pencilling him in as the Blue Jays’ number three playoff starter.

It hinges on what happens with Scherzer this week, but save for another blowout in Scherzer’s next game, Yesavage seems like number four on the Blue Jays’ starting pitcher depth chart right now. In October, you absolutely have to go with the hot hand, which is why so many anointed him as a playoff starter.

Close to the end of his stint in Triple-A with the Buffalo Bisons, Yesavage made a few appearances in relief: a three-inning stint and a very short 0.1 game in his second-last game in the minors. It’s an extremely small sample size, but Yesavage has experience this year as a starter and a reliever.

With that devastating splitter, which is especially unhittable for left-handed hitters, the Blue Jays might be tempted to utilize Yesavage in a relief role for the playoffs. Lefties are slashing .222/.222/.222 on Yesavage’s splitter in the big leagues. In the minors, Yesavage’s splitter held opponents to a .058/.140/.135 slash line.

If he isn’t starting outright in the playoffs, a creative way to maximize Yesavage’s impact would be to piggyback him off of someone like Scherzer, or perhaps even Gausman or Bieber. Opposing hitters have yet to lock into Yesavage’s unorthodox release point, and he could really do some damage in short relief in the postseason.