Blue Jays Starting Pitchers On Same Page When It Comes To Potential Role Changes
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The Toronto Blue Jays made one of the most notable moves ahead of the trade deadline this year when they acquired 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber from the Cleveland Guardians despite him not being on the active roster.
Bieber, who underwent Tommy John surgery just two starts into the 2024 season, was on a rehab assignment working his way back before he was dealt to the Blue Jays, firmly putting him right in the middle of a divisional race as someone who could be an impact arm in the playoffs.
The right-hander completed his rehab assignment with Toronto's Triple-A affiliate and was activated off the injured list, giving this team another weapon in the rotation to pair with a surging Max Scherzer and solid trio of Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt and Jose Berrios.
However, there was a casualty of this activation, with Eric Lauer -- who had performed incredibly well since being given an opportunity to start -- being moved into a reliever role, something that could have caused some tension in the clubhouse.
Blue Jays Starters Flexible for Role Changes
While this seems to only affect Lauer in the short-term since he's the one who has been moved out of the rotation, there's a chance that other changes could come, too, with manager John Schneider stating their plans are "fluid."
Because of that, everyone needs to be on the same page when it comes to this starting staff, with no one putting themselves above the team and what they are trying to accomplish by winning their first World Series championship since they won back-to-back trophies in 1992 and 1993.
The good news is that it seems like that's the mentality they have.
"The biggest thing is that we've had multiple conversations with all of them and they all land in the same spot, which is, 'We just want to win.' Good teams have tough conversations sometimes, and this is definitely one of them. But they all understand how flexible they have to be," he said, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com.
Bieber is set to make his debut on Friday against the Miami Marlins, and how he performs will determine a lot going forward, with his arm and stuff either looking sharp enough where the Blue Jays can trust him in an important playoff start or his performance suggesting he might need a move into the bullpen in October.
That same thought process will surround the established guys, too, with Berrios starting to regress over the course of the long campaign to the point where his stuff might play better out of the bullpen in the playoffs.
All of that is why Schneider has stated their plans are fluid, so it will be up to the pitchers themselves to put their best foot forward to secure starting spots down the stretch.
