AL Contender Seen as Surprise Landing Spot for Blue Jays' Chris Bassitt

Which team from the American League could make sense for Chris Bassitt in free agency?

Oct 31, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt (40) throws a pitch in the ninth inning for game six of the 2025 MLB World Series at Rogers Centre. | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

The Toronto Blue Jays have had a fantastic winter with numerous good moves to help the franchise. However, with some new faces coming in, others had to go. 

Following their loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, the Blue Jays were on a mission to improve this offseason. Toronto has been willing to spend significantly in recent years, and that, paired with some good development of players, has helped get them to where they are now. 

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This winter, undoubtedly, a goal of the franchise was to improve its starting rotation. The Blue Jays were one of the first teams to make a splash in free agency with the signing of Dylan Cease to a long-term deal. The right-hander will likely be at the top of the rotation for Toronto and could be one of the missing pieces for the team. 

Furthermore, while Cease will help anchor the top of the unit, they also added Cody Ponce to provide some depth at the back end. This is a group that has a number of starters, and it will be interesting to see in what direction the team goes. However, due to the moves made thus far, two starters from the team last year likely won’t be returning. 

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report recently wrote about a surprise landing spot for Blue Jays’ free agent Chris Bassitt being the Cleveland Guardians. 

Bassitt Would Strengthen Back End of Rotation

A general view a Cleveland Guardians hat and glove | Peter Aiken-Imagn Images

Despite being a reliable and solid pitcher over the last couple of years, the market has been a little quiet for the 36-year-old. While he likely would have enjoyed returning to being on a contender like Toronto, this is a rotation that simply doesn’t have a need for him now. 

In 2025, Bassitt put together a strong campaign, totaling an 11-9 record and 3.96 ERA. That is a pretty good season that many teams would be happy to receive from a pitcher who projects to be more of a complementary piece of the rotation at this point. 

For the Guardians, they had somewhat of a quiet offseason, but this was a team that had a ridiculous comeback to win the American League Central in 2025 and will be hoping to defend the crown. While adding some help offensively would have made more sense, strengthening the rotation on the back end with a pitcher like Bassitt also fills a need over the course of a long season. 

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