The Toronto Blue Jays are coming off a fantastic season where they found themselves playing for a World Series title. Unfortunately, they would be bested by the Los Angeles Dodgers in an exciting series that came down to seven games.
Now, the attention turns to the future. The club is at risk of losing three key players: Bo Bichette, Chris Bassitt, and Max Scherzer to free agency.
Toronto is expected to do all it can to retain Bichette, and the same goes for Bassitt. However, with Scherzer's age, the front office is likely okay with parting ways with him, even if he was a big help during the World Series.
Blue Jays projected to bolster rotation by adding former All-Star
Chris Bassitt will likely draw a good crowd of teams looking to sign him. He is one of the pitchers on the open market who is looking for a short-term deal, given his age.
He could be a hard one to re-sign, and if that's the case, they will have to look elsewhere. They could turn their attention to the open market, or Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter suggests they could make a trade and acquire Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Mitch Keller, who was an All-Star in 2023.
"Berrios is still owed another $67 million over the next three years, so moving him won't be easy. However, he is still a fine backend option if the relationship can be mended, and the Blue Jays and Pirates look like a good fit on a Mitch Keller trade to give the staff more of a No. 2/3 type to take some pressure off [Shane] Bieber and [Trey] Yesavage."
This would give the Blue Jays an Opening Day rotation consisting of:
- Kevin Gausman
- Mitch Keller
- Shane Bieber
- Trey Yesavage
- Jose Berrios
That could be enough for them to be a nuisance in the AL East, especially if Bieber can stay away from injury. He only made seven appearances this past season after he rehabbed from Tommy John surgery.
More MLB news:
- Giants projected to add two big names to their starting rotation
- Padres projected Opening Day rotation may not be what fans want to see
- Yankees projected to bolster rotation by adding former AL wins leader
- Astros projected to reunite with former AL MVP over the winter
- Tigers projected to reunite with three-time Cy Young Award winner