Toronto Blue Jays considering six-man rotation
Photo credit: https://www.newsweek.com/
The Toronto Blue Jays are hoping to bolster their starting rotation by reinstating Cy Young award winning right-hander Shane Bieber from the injured list later this month.
Shane Bieber has been recovering from Tommy John surgery since last April.
A free agent over the winter, he re-signed with the Guardians, but Cleveland flipped him to Toronto ahead of last month's trade deadline.
He had already begun a rehab assignment in the Guardians system, and he picked up right where he left off with his new team, tossing five innings of two-run ball for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons last weekend and 5 2/3 yesterday afternoon.
Shane Bieber continues his rehab assignment for the @BuffaloBisons! The @BlueJays' right-hander whiffs 6 over 5 2/3 frames in his second appearance for his new organization.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider told the media that a six-man rotation is definitely a possibility
Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters (including Sportsnet's Shi Davidi) that Bieber will most likely require one more rehab start before he's ready to make his 2025 debut.
Bieber is heading back to Toronto tonight and the Blue Jays will finalize next steps with him in coming days. Right now it's "probably one more" rehab outing aiming for 85ish pitches, added Schneider.
The Blue Jays have been in much better shape since Eric Lauer forced his way into the starting rotation and Max Scherzer came back from the injured list, joining the steady and reliable trio of Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, and Chris Bassitt.
Dating back to the week of Scherzer's return, Blue Jays starters have a 4.00 ERA in 41 games. They rank 10th in both SIERA (3.93) and FanGraphs WAR (3.1).
That's a notable improvement from their performance over the three months prior, when they pitched to a 4.65 ERA (26th in MLB), a 4.16 SIERA (18th), and just 2.7 fWAR (27th) in almost twice as many games.
Bieber, the 2020 AL Cy Young winner, will have a spot in Toronto's rotation when he's ready for it.
Needless to say, such an arrangement would be great for Lauer. Not only would he get to keep his job in the rotation a little longer, but some extra rest would probably do him well, considering he's never pitched a full, qualified season.
Extra rest would also benefit the injury-prone, 41-year-old Scherzer and the returning Bieber.
On the other hand, it might not please the workhorses Gausman, Berrios, and Bassitt, each of whom has pitched just about every five games like clockwork since he arrived in Toronto.
The Blue Jays have several off-days coming up, so a six-man rotation could mean that, at times, their starters would go a week between outings.
Any potential benefits of a six-man rotation would be cancelled out if the extra time off negatively impacts any of their veteran arms.
The Blue Jays would also have to consider the fact that their bullpen, a group that has struggled to a 8.48 ERA over the last two weeks, would be pitching one man down.
| POLL | ||
AOUT 10 | 208 ANSWERS Toronto Blue Jays considering six-man rotation Do you think the Blue Jays will use a six man rotation temporarily or for the rest of the regular season? | ||
| Temporarily | 131 | 63 % |
| Rest of the regular season | 62 | 29.8 % |
| Not at all | 15 | 7.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
TRENDING NOW
