The Toronto Blue Jays should look to bring back a familiar face amid some injuries to the rotation.
Toronto opened spring training with some disappointing injury news. Star slugger Anthony Santander will miss most of the season after undergoing labrum surgery. Depth pitcher Bowden Francis will miss the entire season.
Meanwhile, Shane Bieber will miss the beginning of the season due to an injury. It’s unclear how long Bieber will be out, but with him missing the start of the season, the Blue Jays should bring back veteran starter Chris Bassitt.
Bassitt completed his three-year, $63 million deal with the Blue Jays and was beloved in the club house. He was well-respected inside the locker room and was also a fan-favorite. He had expressed interest in returning to the Blue Jays.
With Bieber’s injury and how Jose Berrios will pitch still being uncertain, bringing back Bassitt for depth does make sense. He can be a fifth starter for the team, and he showed he can be a high-leverage reliever come playoff time for Toronto.
Bassitt went 11-9 with a 3.96 ERA in 32 games last season, including 31 starts. He had a 1.04 ERA in 7 games in the playoffs out of the bullpen.
Multiple Teams Showing Interest in Bassitt
Bassitt still being a free agent is a bit of a surprise, as he had a lot of success last season.
Although Bassitt is 36-years-old, he’s still an effective starter. Meanwhile, pitching out of the bullpen last October should also help his role come playoff time. However, as spring training began, Bassitt hasn’t signed, but his friend and Blue Jays podcaster Johnny Giunta revealed he’s down to four teams.
“He’s like, this is easily the latest I’ve ever not known where I’m going for spring training,” Giunta said on Gate 14. “Bassitt is essentially like, am I going to Arizona or Florida. I know the teams in the mix, I know it’s the Cubs, I know it’s the Padres, I know it’s the Orioles, and I know it’s the Yankees. I’m surprised he’s not signed yet.”
Whether or not the Blue Jays will now show interest in Bassitt after Bieber’s injury is uncertain. Yet, it would make a lot of sense for Toronto to pursue the veteran right-hander for a reunion.
Blue Jays Have Plenty of Pitching Depth
Although Toronto will be without Bieber to begin the season, the Blue Jays do have some in-house options.
Toronto has six other starters in Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage, Cody Ponce, Jose Berrios, and Eric Lauer to compete for a rotation spot. Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said the pitching depth is something they wanted.
“That’s one of the reasons we acquired Cody, really fortunate to have Eric Lauer in the position that he’s in here, obviously we acquired Dylan Cease and have two incredibly stable starting pitchers coming back in Gaus and Jose,” said Atkins. “Very confident that we’re going to see Shane contributing in a significant portion of our season. And feel like our starting point is still in a very solid position.”
So, with Atkins being comfortable with the depth, a reunion with Bassitt may not happen. But it is something Toronto should pursue.
Blue Jays Should Bring Back Fan-Favorite Pitcher After Bieber Injury News