Blue Jays' Chris Bassitt talks about upcoming free agency in 2026

After last night's heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the Dodgers, the Blue Jays have been thrust into the offseason on a far more somber note than they were hoping when they headed back to Toronto one win away from a World Series championship.

For several of the team's players, however, yesterday also marked their last official day as a member of the organization before they became free agents earlier today.

One such player is right-hander Chris Bassitt, but the veteran told reporters (including MLB.com's Keegan Matheson) that he hopes he'll have another chance to play with this group of Blue Jays.

There's certainly room in the Toronto rotation mix for Bassitt to return.

Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, and Jose Berrios all figure to enter Spring Training with locked-in rotation jobs next spring, but that still leaves two spots open for reunions or external additions.

Internal options exist to fill those holes. Eric Lauer and Bowden Francis both started plenty of games for the Jays this year, while the farm system boasts youngsters like Adam Macko and even rehabbing top prospect Ricky Tiedemann, both of whom could impact the big league club next year in theory.

The Jays will likely want more certainty than those internal options can provide for their rotation next year, however, and Bassitt can offer that.

He's made at least 30 starts in four consecutive seasons now, pitching to a 3.77 ERA with a 4.01 FIP in that time.

Three of those seasons came with Toronto as part of a three-year, $63MM deal signed prior to the 2023 season.

While Bassitt is certainly a useful pitcher even as he looks ahead to his age-37 season, it's fair to wonder if the Jays might have their sights set higher in free agency this winter.

There's a plethora of quality arms available this winter ranging from Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez, and Dylan Cease at the top of the market to other intriguing options like Zac Gallen, Michael King, and Tatsuya Imai.

Meanwhile, hurlers like MacKenzie Gore, Joe Ryan, and Sandy Alcantara could be available on the trade market.

For a Blue Jays team that saw how valuable a true ace can be after facing Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the playoffs, it would be understandable if a front-of-the-rotation arm was at the top of their wish list this winter.

That's not a profile Bassitt can fill, and trade deadline acquisition Shane Bieber could be much more reasonably expected to provide that sort of production if the Jays want to bring back a newly-minted free agent from the 2025 team.