Blue Jays Could Use Last Season's Workhorse After Rotation Injuries
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Last season, the Toronto Blue Jays had three pitchers who made at least 30 starts in their near-Cinderella story of a run: Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, and José Berrios.
Only their Opening Day starter will be available to start the year (Gausman), as Berrios has a stress fracture in his elbow, and Bassitt will now be throwing for another team in the AL East, the Baltimore Orioles.
Now, if Berrios was the only pitcher down for the Jays it would be one thing, but he is not. Their young sensation, Trey Yesavage, is going to start the year on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement. In simple terms, his rotator cuff (or shoulder burse) has become very irritated, and left untreated, it could be quite serious with long-term implications.
So, the potential AL Rookie of the Year won't be throwing for the club soon, and neither will last year's Opening Day starter. Toronto was aggressive this offseason with key additions like Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce, but the loss of Bassitt is going to be felt right off the bat.
At this moment, there isn't a clear timeline as to when either of their top arms could return to throwing, so how badly Bassitt's departure will be is yet to be determined. But, it is now looking like he was a pitcher Toronto should have worked harder to keep.
Bassitt in 2025
There were two pitchers last season for the Blue Jays that had double-digit wins, Bassitt (11) and Gausman (10). While Gausman had the slight upper hand in ERA (3.59 compared to 3.96), he beat out Berrios's 4.17.
The then 36-year-old trailed Gausman in strikeouts, but he pitched nearly 23 fewer innings, and had they spent the same amount of time on the mound, then he would have led the team in retired batters (mathematically at least).
Chris Bassitt in 5 relief appearances this Postseason:
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 29, 2025
6.2 IP
1 H
0 ER
1 BB
8 K
The 36-year-old made 31 regular season starts and is dominating out of the bullpen for the Blue Jays in October. pic.twitter.com/HJG310L6Hn
Once the playoffs came around, his role changed, but he embraced it. Bassitt was thrown into the bullpen, which had easily been the pitching staff's Achilles heel last year, but not during their postseason run, which was the best the organization had seen in over 30 years.
The Jays knew he could be trusted on the mound, and they were right in doing so. He wasn't utilized during the ALDS when Toronto beat the New York Yankees, but two of the five games against the Seattle Mariners, and five of the seven against the reigning World Champions.
By the end of those seven games, he pitched nearly nine innings against some of the top bats in baseball. But, he only allowed one measly run as he held batters to a .115 batting average. His final stat line was a 1.05 ERA, 0.58 WHIP, 10 strikeouts, two walks, and no homers.
Good news for Toronto, Yesavage is scheduled to pitch in a minor league game on March 24, but with his name going on IL, it is clear he won't be back right away. Losing Bassitt isn't ideal, but hopefully it doesn't deter their season in the beginning months.
Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.