The Toronto Blue Jays are barely into spring training, and already their rotation depth is being tested. Two big blows hit the pitching staff almost simultaneously: Shane Bieber, the former Cy Young winner and expected front-line arm, is sidelined with arm fatigue.
And just as the Jays were sorting out how to patch that hole, Bowden Francis - a potential fill-in - was ruled out for the entire season. He’s set to undergo Tommy John surgery.
That’s a tough double-punch to take this early, especially for a club with postseason aspirations and a rotation that looked solid but not exactly overflowing with depth. Francis had started 27 games over the last two seasons, logging 167 2/3 innings with a 4.35 ERA. He wasn’t an ace, but he was a serviceable option - the kind of arm you need over a long 162-game grind.
Now, with two rotation spots suddenly in flux, Toronto may be eyeing a familiar face to help steady the ship: Chris Bassitt.
Bassitt, 36, just wrapped up a three-year, $63 million run with the Blue Jays, and he finished it in style. After losing his rotation spot late last season due to a sore back - and even being left off the initial postseason roster - Bassitt returned when it mattered most. He came out of the bullpen in the ALCS and World Series and delivered in a big way.
In seven postseason relief appearances, Bassitt threw 8 2/3 innings, gave up just one run on three hits, struck out seven, and walked only two. That’s the kind of veteran poise and production teams crave in October.
After the run, Bassitt called the Blue Jays “the most special group” of his 11-year career. But when the offseason began, he hit free agency - and as of the official start of spring training, he’s still unsigned.
Now, with Bieber and Francis both down, a reunion could make a lot of sense.
There’s been some chatter about Max Scherzer as another potential target. On paper, Scherzer’s résumé is unmatched - a three-time Cy Young winner and a future Hall of Famer.
But there’s a key difference here: durability. Scherzer, now 41, managed just 85 innings over 17 starts for Toronto last year.
He hasn’t topped 100 innings in a season since 2023. Bassitt, meanwhile, has been one of the steadiest arms in baseball.
He’s thrown at least 170 innings in each of the past four seasons, including a full 200 in 2023 - his first year in Toronto.
That kind of reliability is hard to find, especially this late in the offseason. And for a team suddenly scrambling to plug holes in the rotation, Bassitt’s track record - and familiarity with the clubhouse - could be invaluable.
According to Spotrac, Bassitt’s market value is estimated at $31.1 million over two years. But with no deal yet in place, the Blue Jays might be able to bring him back on a shorter, more team-friendly contract. A one-year deal could be enough to lure the veteran back north of the border - and if he’s anything close to the pitcher he’s been the last few years, it could be a savvy move to reinforce a rotation that just lost two key arms before the first pitch of spring.
The Blue Jays know what they’d be getting with Bassitt: a workhorse, a competitor, and a guy who’s already proven he can deliver when the stakes are highest. With the rotation suddenly in flux, that kind of stability might be exactly what they need.