The Toronto Blue Jays’ Pitching Rotation Problem

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The issue with the Toronto Blue Jays’s starting rotation rears its ugly head again. Less so because it isn’t good – Kevin Gausman is putting up great numbers and Jose Berrios has been decent – and more so because they only have four true starters. What does Toronto need to do to give their guys some breathing room?

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What do the Blue Jays do to Help the Rotation?

As co-host David Bastl points out, the Blue Jays only have four starters at the moment. Generally a club is equipped with five such pitchers who work on rotation. With Alek Monoah fixing his mechanics and working on his confidence in the minors, the Jays use the fifth day to rotate some bullpen throwers.

Moreover, Chris Bassitt is having an off season, sporting some of his worse numbers in years.

But is it time to bring in someone new to help the group out? Former Blue Jays head coach John Gibbons shares his thoughts.

“Normally those guys would get that extra day to rest, which is what they need at this time of year. To answer your question: yes. The problem is who do they bring in? The trade deadline is only a few weeks away.”

Alek Manoah  Status Update

Of course, many fans’ reaction to the situation is to take a peek at how former star Alek Manoah is doing in the minors. Although his first start in the Floridian division was a disaster, he fared much better when starting a Double-A game recently, striking out 10 batters.

Bastl inquires as to what the formula is to bring Manoah back in the Jays’ rotation, but “Gibby” suggests taking the precautionary route and puts things into perspective.

“He’s the guy they (Blue Jays) need. He had a much better start against a Double-A team. But when guys go down to the very bottom you get these young kids who don’t know any better. When they see they’re facing Alek Manoah they’re just start hacking away. There’s no strategy. They just see it and hit it.”

Gibbons nonetheless acknowledges that the Double-A performance was an important step in the right direction, especially after the awful Florida league experience.

“But you still have to be very careful here. You don’t want to bring him back too fast, otherwise it could another couple of months lost.”