2026 Toronto Blue Jays Season Thread

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by MacFlame

They talked about when they traded for him too. He's definitely on the radar to be a starter. I think he will be.

Goodbye to Scherzer if that's the case. I liked his mix of intensity while being good to his teammates. He's probably not good enough to be a starter on the team but I do like what he brings.


Ross and team don't tend to fall in love with many guys, and it took me awhile to realize that they trust in a small core of players who are their all purpose guys (Vlad, Springer, Kirk, Bo, Gausman), and everyone else pretty much has to be versatile and may be replaceable for the game splits depending on which pitching matchup they'll face. I really think they need to add a young bat to their core though, as it's not a healthy/well conditioned group, and with Springer getting older, how quickly does he deteriorate?

[Blaster86]

Originally Posted by MacFlame

They talked about when they traded for him too. He's definitely on the radar to be a starter. I think he will be.

Yeah, but I didn't think it would be the actual plan. I still really like Louis Varland. I feel like he had a rough start with the team and I don't think he ever got totally comfortable after being traded by his home town team BUT you can see the ability there.


I don't know if that actually helps until we see it in action but if he can become a middle starter holy smokes that a trade.

[bizaro86]

I think you put Varland in a group with Francis and Lauer, and sort of expect that you'll get 1 good starting pitcher out of the 3 of them next season.

Then you figure Gausman, Yesavage, and Berrios are all back, and you need 1 more SP. Ideally a top of the rotation arm.

Probably good to get 2 SP (for depth/injury covering/just in case someone sucks). Then if everyone is great you push someone to long relief.

I'd consider trying to trade Berrios as well (and then you need another arm) because I think those option years he has are years where he's unlikely to be worth his contract, and it'd be better if he played them elsewhere.

[Roof-Daddy]

Varland turning into a starter would be quite the bonus.

[Blaster86]

I think assuming you're going to get one of those is fine if you're relying on them as your #5. I legitimately feel like you need two upper end arms this off season.

[Roof-Daddy]

The Jays rotation was pretty average last year, as was their bullpen, and they won 94 games in the toughest division in baseball.

They didn't have Bieber or Yesavage until the last few weeks of the season. Bassitt was a mess on the road, Scherzer missed the first couple of months, Berrios got progressively worse as the season went along and Lauer spent a huge portion of the season being our most consistent starter.

This team is built on a scrappy jack of all trades offense and the best D in baseball. If all they do is bring back Bassitt and Scherzer they'll probably push for 90 wins again. If they add two "upper end arms" they should be favored to win the AL east again barring severe regression from their position players.

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

Varland turning into a starter would be quite the bonus.

The tradeoff is losing the only power pitcher out of the bullpen. Starters are more valuable though

[edslunch]

I think they can make the playoffs, but leading the league in come from behind wins might be hard to replicate

[MacFlame]

Gausman
Yesavage
Berrios
Varland
Lauer

Bring in one more arm (which could be Bassitt) and they have essentially the same rotation as last year, which was not bad. It would be great if they could find another ace, but probably not necessary.

The jays are in good shape heading into next season. I would love to see Bassitt in the pen for next year, but I dont think hes interested in that.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Blaster86

I think assuming you're going to get one of those is fine if you're relying on them as your #5. I legitimately feel like you need two upper end arms this off season.

SP1: New FA/trade Ace (Cease/Valdez/Suarez/Skubal/Peralta)
SP2: Gausman
SP3: Yesavage
SP4: Berrrios
SP5: one of Lauer/Varland/Francis

That seems at least as good as what they ran with last year. There are a few question marks (how does Yesavage do once teams have seen him, can Berrios recover from whatever injury issue he had at the end) but you aren't counting on those guys as #1 either.

I wouldn't mind bring Bassitt back - I think about $15 x 2 gets him, and then you only need 2 out of 3 of Yesavage/Bassitt/Berrios to work. If they all do Bassitt can be a high leverage bullpen arm. But I think the second arm is more of a "nice to have" than a "need to have".

At the beginning of the year the #4 spot was Francis, who pitched terribly, and the #5 spot was a mix of Lucas/Schultz/Urena (who weren't good other than a quick stretch from Lucas). The lineup above is better than this year's imo.

But they definitely need at least one good starter, there's a hole at the top without adding someone.

Edited to add: I wouldn't mind Jack Flaherty on a 1-2 year "show me" type deal. Not in the #1 spot obviously but as a rotation depth piece with some upside.

[SuperMatt18]

I think you have to assume Yesavage is a bit of a ??? still too.

The key is bringing in a 1/2 type to pair with Gausman though.

Then you can fill 3/4/5 with Berrios, Yesavage, Lauer, Varland, or maybe Bassit.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

I think you have to assume Yesavage is a bit of a ??? still too.

The key is bringing in a 1/2 type to pair with Gausman though.

Then you can fill 3/4/5 with Berrios, Yesavage, Lauer, Varland, or maybe Bassit.

I like Varland, Lauer, and Bassitt as the LR. If you have a good LR in case a SP doesn't play too hot they can easily step in.

[GirlySports]

LR is kind of pointless in the regular season. How much are we paying Bassitt for mop up duty and why would he stay to do that?

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Bassitt could be the 5th starter and transition to long relief in the playoffs again. If he's fully healthy, that would be huge.

[GirlySports]

it all depends on the market and what other offers players are getting.

Does Bassitt get a better offer than 5th starter? Does he care? Does he want to stay on a contender or be a top starter on a loser for more money?

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

LR is kind of pointless in the regular season. How much are we paying Bassitt for mop up duty and why would he stay to do that?

I think the assumption that long relievers can only be used in low leverage situations is a bad one - one of those silly old baseball traditions (like the best reliever in the 9th instead of pitching vs the best hitters).

If Bassitt is in your pen, I think you give him two or three innings (eg 6/7/8) in a close game twice a week.

I don't think we need 3 guys in that spot though, if you keep Varland as a reliever I think he makes sense as a 1 inning guy.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

I think the assumption that long relievers can only be used in low leverage situations is a bad one - one of those silly old baseball traditions (like the best reliever in the 9th instead of pitching vs the best hitters).

If Bassitt is in your pen, I think you give him two or three innings (eg 6/7/8) in a close game twice a week.

I don't think we need 3 guys in that spot though, if you keep Varland as a reliever I think he makes sense as a 1 inning guy.

That would be totally new. Nobody is using a guy 3 innings, 6/7/8 in this era of platoons and matchups. Why not 7/8/9 forget the closer?

Even if you ran bullpen this way, Bassitt wouldn't go for it nor would you pay a guy 15 million to do that.

[EN FUEGO]

Funny to see the Manoah/Yesavage comparisons. While I get the whole "tempering expectations" thing, Manoah's post season line is: 0-1 record, 6.35 ERA, and 4 strikeouts over 5.2 innings pitched. Not the same guys mentally, physically, or especially not in the way that they pitch. Yesavage has battled hard at the highest possible level with and without his best stuff.

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by EN FUEGO

Funny to see the Manoah/Yesavage comparisons. While I get the whole "tempering expectations" thing, Manoah's post season line is: 0-1 record, 6.35 ERA, and 4 strikeouts over 5.2 innings pitched. Not the same guys mentally, physically, or especially not in the way that they pitch. Yesavage has battled hard at the highest possible level with and without his best stuff.

Manoah flamed out because of the pitch clock. He couldn't handle the pace that it introduced. Yesavage can certainly have question marks given he's excellent, but also a bit of a novelty, but he's nothing like the situation with Manoah.

[Roof-Daddy]

After year 1 of their careers both Manoah and Yesavage looked like Mustangs.

Under the hood though, Yesavage has a 350 supercharger while Manoah had a hamster on a wheel. He was all smoke and mirrors.