Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider basing rotation decisions on merit rather than seniority

On Thursday afternoon at TD Ballpark, Dylan Cease threw two innings of live batting practice in an otherwise quiet stadium before stopping along the right-field line to speak with Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith.

Cease is one of several pitchers stretching out as starters as the regular season approaches. Also in the mix are Max Scherzer, Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Cody Ponce and Trey Yesavage.

Although the possibility of a six-man rotation hasn't been completely ruled out, it's highly unlikely that all seven pitchers will begin the season as starters.

With just three weeks remaining before Opening Day, Cease's progress is encouraging, but the organization will still have to make some tough calls.

Behind the scenes, the Blue Jays are likely weighing a variety of possibilities - many of which will ultimately be set aside once the roster is finalized.

With that in mind, several factors could influence the team's decision-making process.

From a technical standpoint, the Blue Jays could delay Yesavage's path to free agency by keeping him in the minors for at least 30 days.

Doing so would prevent him from accumulating a full year of MLB service time this season, barring a MLB Rookie of the Year Award victory.

However, such a move would weaken the major-league roster. As a result, the club intends to include Yesavage on the Opening Day roster even if he isn't fully built up to handle five or more innings per start.

«We think he's shown he belongs here,» Schneider said recently. «It's really just about making sure he's prepared to handle something close to a normal workload.»
«As long as Trey is built up to a point where we're comfortable, he's going to be part of our team.»

Yesavage is on board with that approach. Still, while Cease threw two innings Thursday, Yesavage only worked one, which suggests he may be limited to roughly three or four innings per outing when the season begins.

There are other considerations as well. Scherzer's contract, for instance, contains performance incentives that could pay him up to $10 million if he reaches 155 innings pitched.

Even so, Schneider has emphasized that roster decisions will be based on performance rather than reputation or tenure.

The Blue Jays are keeping a close eye on the workloads of all their pitchers - especially Yesavage, who is just 22 and threw a career-high 139.2 innings last season.

Bringing him along gradually could help preserve his effectiveness later in the year. Early on, that might mean pairing him with a piggyback reliever such as Eric Lauer to share innings.

Ultimately, health may prove to be the most significant factor in how the situation unfolds.

Any pitcher who needs more time to prepare could open the season on the injured list alongside Shane Bieber.

With three weeks remaining in spring training, there is still plenty of time for things to change before the roster is finalized.

In the end, it's entirely possible that injuries or other circumstances could resolve these difficult decisions on their own.

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