The Toronto Blue Jays are currently in one of those good-problem-to-have kind of situations.
They’ve got too many starting pitchers.
Toronto already had a deep rotation last season, so much so that Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer (now free agents) pitched out of the bullpen in the postseason.
Jose Berrios wasn’t even on the World Series roster, another example of the depth.
And now, Berrios is finding himself in a tricky spot. He might get the squeeze again.
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The Blue Jays signed Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million contract this offseason to bolster an already strong unit.
They also added Cody Ponce, a pitcher returning from Korea after refining his game there.
“Berríos ended last season on the IL for the first time in his MLB career and was ‘not happy’ with being left off the postseason rosters, GM Ross Atkins said, so there’s a human element to this, too,” MLB.com wrote in a new article on Monday. “The baseball side of this is a stacked rotation already featuring Dylan Cease, Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage and Cody Ponce.”
Berrios was involved in a handful of offseason trade rumors in part because of this logjam.
There’s always a chance a trade is still forthcoming, although there hasn’t been much chatter about that.
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The reality is that the Blue Jays themselves probably don’t want to get rid of pitching depth. It just could become difficult if Berrios expresses further displeasure.
“These things have a way of working themselves out naturally, but if the Blue Jays still have six healthy starters by the end of camp, Berríos could be in an awkward spot,” MLB.com writes. “How the Blue Jays manage five spots for six projected starters is their biggest internal decision over the next six weeks.”
Keep an eye on all these arms, especially the relatively unproven Ponce. Something has to give here.
