DUNEDIN — Good rotations have a horse. Great rotations have a herd. The Blue Jays’ top four starters gave them 742 1/3 innings in 2023. It was a remarkable number, more than any quartet in baseball. This group deserved so much more than the ending we remember, but as they fit Alek Manoah for a new harness to help pull this carriage again, the Blue Jays’ rotation wants to be bigger, better, stronger.
“There’s no reason for us not to be a lot better than last year,” Chris Bassitt said. “We’re all confident and we’re all healthy. We’re not trying to fix people. We’re all comfortable and confident in each other’s games and what we do. We’re in a great spot to start. I can’t say we were in this same spot last year. That’s why I think we should be a lot better this year.”
A year ago, Bassitt was the new guy. He was brought to town to eat valuable innings behind the ace, Manoah, and the often-dominant Kevin Gausman. It was a rotation that needed some stability after José Berríos shocked the baseball world by going from one of its most consistent starters to a 5.23 ERA and Yusei Kikuchi’s debut season brought more headaches than help. It feels more like an alternate reality than a Spring Training camp that broke 11 months ago.
Listen to the veterans describe this rotation’s success and it sounds like they’re describing a good marriage. The foundation of this group isn’t built on talent, training or the sprinkle of luck necessary to these things working, though they all play a role. It’s about trust, honesty and communication.
“We can ping-pong from start to start and say, ‘Hey, I can only throw 80 pitches today because I’m a little sore, or I can throw 115 today because I’m feeling really good,’” Bassitt said. “So much goes on behind the scenes with [pitching coach] Pete [Walker] and the coaching staff about understanding where we are all at physically. If one main guy is the workhorse, then he can’t be the workhorse [anymore]? That throws you for an absolute loop. The fact that we basically have five guys who can do it makes it so much easier to take a so-called ‘easy day.’”
Source: https://www.mlb.com/bluejays/news/