Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Chris Bassitt

Orioles Sign Chris Bassitt

By | at

Feb 13: Baltimore has officially announced the Bassitt signing. No corresponding move was needed, as the club had room on the 40-man for the veteran righty. The Orioles’ 40-man roster is now full.

Feb. 12: The Orioles are reportedly in agreement with starter Chris Bassitt on a one-year, $18.5MM contract, pending a physical. Bassitt, a client of Meister Sports Management, receives a $3MM signing bonus and would unlock another $500K if he reaches 27 starts. Baltimore has an opening on the 40-man roster after losing infielder Bryan Ramos on waivers to St. Louis.

President of baseball operations Mike Elias has made a habit of signing veteran starters to one-year deals over the past few years. They found some success with Kyle Gibson in 2023. Last winter’s reunion with Gibson and additions of Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano did not go as planned. Bassitt is in a similar stage of his career as he nears his 37th birthday, but he should have a higher floor than those previous additions.

Bassitt didn’t reach 100 MLB innings in a season until his age-30 campaign in 2019. He has been a consistent mid-rotation presence over the last seven years. Only once did his earned run average climb north of 4.00. His 2.29 mark during the shortened season was a small sample outlier, but he has otherwise been a safe bet to allow between three and four earned runs per nine while logging a heavy workload. Bassitt has surpassed 150 innings in each of the last five seasons, one of just six pitchers to do that. He’s eighth in total innings over that stretch.

The veteran righty has paired the bulk with mid-rotation quality. He’s coming off a 3.96 ERA with slightly better than average underlying marks. Bassitt fanned 22.6% of batters faced against a 7.1% walk rate across 170 1/3 innings a year ago. His per-pitch whiff rate is a little below average, but he has managed to strike out between 22-23% of opponents in each of the past four seasons.

Bassitt’s velocity has ticked down slightly as he has gotten into his mid-30s. His sinker averaged 91.6 mph last season, narrowly a career low. That’s still not far off the 92-93 mph range in which he had worked throughout his career. The sinker is Bassitt’s primary offering, but Statcast identified eight distinct pitches that he used at least occasionally during his final season in Toronto. He mostly works with a sinker, cutter and curveball and generally does well to limit hard contact.

The biggest concern may be Bassitt’s issues against left-handed hitters. While he held them in check earlier in his career, Bassitt has seen his platoon splits widen over the past few seasons. Since the start of 2023, lefties have gotten to him at a .284/.360/.483 clip in more than 1200 plate appearances. He has held same-handed opponents to a punchless .224/.286/.323 line in a similar number of at-bats over that stretch.

Bassitt is coming off a three-year, $63MM contract with the division rival Blue Jays. He provided Toronto with 541 1/3 innings of 3.89 ERA ball during the regular season. Bassitt only once missed a start, as a minor bout of back inflammation sent him to the injured list last September. He missed the Division Series win over the Yankees but returned for the AL Championship Series. Bassitt pitched out of relief and emerged as one of John Schneider’s most trusted leverage arms in October. He fired 8 2/3 innings of one-run ball with 10 strikeouts during Toronto’s pennant run.

One year after helping the Jays go worst to first in the AL East, Bassitt will hope to accomplish the same feat with Baltimore. The Orioles have had a big offseason after stumbling to a 75-87 showing. They signed Pete Alonso (a former teammate of Bassitt’s in New York) to a monster five-year, $155MM deal. The O’s swapped oft-injured starter Grayson Rodriguez for another righty power bat, Taylor Ward, while dealing four prospects and a draft choice to the Rays for Shane Baz. They signed Ryan Helsley to a two-year deal to replace injured closer Félix Bautista and reunited with Zach Eflin on a $10MM contract.

The Orioles again shied away from the top of the free agent starting pitching market, preferring to make a splash in the middle of the lineup. They’ll hope to unlock another gear from Baz, a former top prospect who has shown flashes but been inconsistent over his first couple seasons. Trevor Rogers will look to build off last year’s fantastic final few months, while Kyle Bradish has a chance to be an upper mid-rotation starter now that he’s recovered from Tommy John surgery.

Bassitt slots behind Rogers, Bradish and Baz as locks to open the year in Craig Albernaz’s rotation. Eflin will be assured of the fifth starter role as long as he’s fully recovered from last August’s back surgery. He’s expected to be a full participant in Spring Training, so that should be the case. That could push Dean Kremer and/or Tyler Wells back to Triple-A Norfolk to open the season. Both pitchers still have an option remaining, though they’re each approaching the five-year service cutoff at which they’d earn the right to refuse any minor league assignments. Wells needs another 40 days on an MLB roster to get there, while Kremer is 60 days away.

The O’s could use Wells in long relief and start the year with Kremer rounding out a six-man rotation if they want both pitchers in the majors. A rotation surplus usually works itself out before long. The Braves, Blue Jays and Tigers have all announced significant injury losses within the first two days of camp. Even if all of Baltimore’s starters are currently healthy, they’d be fortunate if that’s the case by Opening Day.

Bassitt may not be the top-of-the-rotation type that O’s fans had coveted, but he’s a sensible pickup for a team that’ll keep an eye on Bradish’s and Eflin’s innings after lost seasons. MLBTR had predicted a two-year, $38MM contract at the beginning of the offseason. Baltimore was able to avoid committing that second season in an offseason when Merrill Kelly commanded $20MM annually over two years from the Diamondbacks at the same age.

The O’s payroll projection climbs to $166MM, as calculated by RosterResource. Despite the handful of significant offseason pickups, they’re only about $6MM above where they opened last season. This will probably wrap their significant offseason dealings, but they shouldn’t have an issue taking on some money midseason if they’re positioned to buy. Bassitt’s removal from the market leaves Zac Gallen, Lucas Giolito and Max Scherzer as the best free agents available for teams still looking to add.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the agreement and terms. Image courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images.

Braves Interested In Lucas Giolito, Chris Bassitt

By | at

The Braves have made offseason additions in the bullpen, the infield and the outfield thus far, bringing in veterans Raisel Iglesias, Robert Suarez, Ha-Seong Kim, Mauricio Dubon, Jorge Mateo and Mike Yastrzemski via free agency or trade. (Kim suffered a hand injury after signing and will miss several months of the season.) The rotation, however, remains untouched as January nears its conclusion.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports on MLB Network (video link) that Atlanta is in the market for some form of rotation upgrade, however, specifically listing right-handers Lucas Giolito and Chris Bassitt as free agents of interest. Neither pitcher received a qualifying offer, so neither would require any draft forfeitures. The Braves are over the luxury tax threshold, per RosterResource’s estimates, but they weren’t tax payors in 2025 so the penalty for signing either veteran would be minimal.

Giolito, 31, started 26 games for the Red Sox in 2025 after missing the 2024 season due to a UCL procedure. He pitched well enough to convert his 2026 club option into a mutual option, which he declined in order to return to the open market. Giolito started the season in rocky fashion (6.42 ERA through seven starts) before rebounding to the tune of a 2.51 ERA in his final 19 starts and 111 1/3 innings. His 20.3% strikeout rate and 9.7% walk rate over that dominant run of 19 starts don’t support such a strong earned run average, and metrics like SIERA (4.67) and FIP (3.97) were much more bearish. Still, Giolito performed like a capable midrotation arm at the very least.

Were it not for a late elbow injury, Giolito’s market might have been more aggressive. (Although, had he been fully healthy, Boston may also have given more consideration to extending a qualifying offer.) Giolito’s surgically repaired ulnar collateral ligament received a clean bill of health at the time, but September testing on the right-hander revealed some irritation in his flexor tendon and a bone issue in his elbow that required some downtime. He missed the Red Sox’ postseason run as a result, but by November he was viewed as “fully healthy” and ready for a normal offseason.

A former first-round pick and top prospect, Giolito has had a roller-coaster tenure in the big leagues. He struggled greatly in his first 45 MLB appearances from 2016-18 (5.48 ERA) before settling in as a durable No. 2 starter with huge strikeout numbers for the White Sox. From 2019-21, he pitched 427 2/3 innings with a 3.47 ERA, 30.7% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate. Giolito stayed healthy and kept missing bats from 2022-23, but home run troubles inflated his ERA to 4.88 over 63 starts between those two seasons. He signed a two-year deal with the Red Sox covering the 2024-25 seasons and affording him the opportunity to opt out after ’24. A spring UCL injury that year wiped out his 2024 campaign and naturally led him to pick up his ’25 player option rather than test the market last winter.

Despite the up-and-down nature of his results, Giolito carries a respectable 4.30 ERA in his career — and that number dips to a flat 4.00 if you set aside the struggles he experienced from ages 21 to 23 back in ’16-’18. Last year’s career-low strikeout rate is a concern, but Giolito’s 93.3 mph average four-seamer is an exact match for his career levels, so it’s not as though he came back from surgery working with dramatically reduced stuff. Clubs aren’t going to view him as the clear playoff-caliber starter he was during his three-year peak with the ChiSox, but it’s not out of the question that he can get back to pitching at that level. Even last year’s level of output would make him a third or fourth starter in a good rotation.

As for Bassitt, he’s considerably older but has been more durable and more consistent. The 36-year-old righty (37 next month) ranks seventh in the majors in games started and eighth in innings pitched over the past six seasons. During that time, he’s pitched to a combined 3.57 earned run average with a 22.7% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate and a 44% ground-ball rate. All of those are right at the league average, if not slightly better.

Bassitt has made at least 30 starts and pitched at least 170 innings in four straight seasons. His 2025 campaign featured 170 1/3 frames with a 3.96 ERA and rate stats right in line with his overall marks from the past six seasons. Bassitt also shined with the Blue Jays in the postseason, shifting to a relief role without missing a beat. He fired 8 2/3 innings of one-run ball and allowed only three hits and two walks while punching out 10 in that time.

If there are any red flags with Bassitt, they’re not as much with his recent performance as they are simply with the aging process of any pitcher. He’ll pitch all of the upcoming season at 37. Last year’s results were strong, but it’s worth noting that his 91.5 mph average fastball was the lowest of his career by a decent margin. His prior career-low was 2023’s 92.4 mph. He bounced back slightly with a 92.6 mph average in 2024 but lost about a mile per hour off that heater in ’25. That said, it didn’t have an impact on his ability to miss bats; Bassitt’s strikeout rate and swinging-strike rate were both better in 2025 than in 2024.

Though the Braves currently have a talented rotation, there are plenty of question marks regarding both health and workload among the bunch. Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, Reynaldo Lopez and Hurston Waldrep rank among the best quintets in the sport from a pure talent level. However, Sale was limited to 20 starts due to fractures in his ribcage. Strider made 23 starts but posted a 4.45 ERA with diminished rate stats in his first season back from UCL surgery. Schwellenbach started only 17 games due to a fracture in his elbow. Lopez made only one start due to shoulder surgery. Waldrep, a former first-rounder and top prospect, looked very good in nine major league starts but had shakier numbers in Triple-A and has just 63 1/3 big league innings under his belt.

Atlanta has some depth options in the form of Bryce Elder, Joey Wentz, Grant Holmes and Didier Fuentes, the latter of whom has garnered some top-100 prospect love this offseason. Still, given the plethora of injury troubles Atlanta faced, Sale’s age/injury track record and Strider’s downturn in results, augmenting the current group would be wise. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco recently argued as much at greater length in a recent piece for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers.

The Braves’ current cash payroll of $262MM would already be a franchise record, while their $258MM of luxury tax obligations are the second-highest in franchise history. Bringing in either Bassitt or Giolito would surely bump Atlanta into the second tier of luxury penalization but would leave them shy of the third tier — the point at which a team’s top draft pick is dropped by ten spots. The Braves will owe a 20% tax on the next $6MM or so spent ($1.2MM) and a 32% tax on the next $20MM. If we presume Bassitt is targeting something similar to the two-year, $40MM deal signed by fellow 37-year-old starter Merrill Kelly, he’d come with about $5.7MM of taxes for the Braves, on top of his actual salary.

Tigers Showing Interest In Chris Bassitt, Lucas Giolito

By | at

The Tigers entered the offseason with a focus on adding pitching help, and that goal has manifested itself in the form of two notable bullpen arms (Kenley Jansen and the re-signed Kyle Finnegan) and a rotation candidate coming off a successful stint in South Korea (Drew Anderson).  Other pitchers like Ranger Suarez, Zac Gallen, Michael King, Ryan Helsley, Pete Fairbanks, and Brad Keller have also been linked to Detroit at various times this winter, and the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon report that the club has also shown interest in Chris Bassitt and Lucas Giolito.

Somewhat surprisingly, Detroit is the first team known to have interest in either Bassitt or Giolito, even though the right-handers are coming off successful 2025 seasons.  This could reflect the relatively slow-moving nature of the free agent starting pitching market, as such top arms as Suarez, Gallen, and Framber Valdez are all still looking for their next contracts.  With those larger names still unsigned and some trade candidates (i.e. Freddy Peralta, MacKenzie Gore) still potentially available, teams may wish to fully explore their chances with these pitchers before turning to more second-tier options like Bassitt or Giolito.

Bassitt’s age also doesn’t help him, as he turns 37 in February.  Still, there isn’t much indication Bassitt is slowing down, as he has thrown 723 innings over the last four seasons with the Mets and Blue Jays with just two minimal stints on the injured list.  The second of those brief IL stints (a bout of lower back inflammation) occurred this past September, and might’ve cost Bassitt a spot in Toronto’s playoff rotation.  Bassitt wasn’t healthy enough to participate in the ALDS, but upon returning in a relief capacity for the ALCS and World Series, the righty had a sparkling 1.04 ERA over 8 2/3 postseason innings.

Over the last four seasons, Bassitt has a 3.77 ERA, 22.4% strikeout rate, and 7.5% walk rate.  The K% is a little below league average and the BB% is slightly above average, plus Bassitt has done a very good job of limiting hard contact.  He isn’t going to wow anyone with his velocity or swing-and-miss ability, but Bassitt has been able to keep hitters off-balance with what is technically an eight-pitch arsenal.

MLB Trade Rumors projected Bassitt for a two-year, $38MM contract this winter while ranking the veteran 24th on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents.  Giolito wasn’t far behind in the #27 spot, projected for two years and $32MM.  That number might well have been higher if it wasn’t for a bout of right flexor irritation and a bone issue in his throwing elbow that arose right before the Red Sox began their playoff run.  Giolito has since described the “freak injury” as just a temporary problem that quickly subsided, and testing revealed no damage to his surgically-repaired UCL.

Giolito missed the entire 2024 season due to UCL surgery, and he had a Tommy John surgery right at the start of his pro career in 2012.  A hamstring strain also delayed the start of his 2025 season and his comeback from his most recent elbow procedure, but Giolito had a 3.41 ERA over 145 innings for the Sox.  This solid bottom-line performance was undermined, however, by a 4.65 SIERA and an array of subpar Statcast numbers.

Giolito doesn’t turn 32 until July and potentially offers more upside, even though he hasn’t looked like a true frontline pitcher since his heyday with the White Sox from 2019-21.  Bassitt is the older and more stable of the two, as while he probably isn’t suited to hold down a front-of-the-rotation spot, he is about as sturdy a choice possible for the back end of a pitching staff.

In theory, Detroit is only looking for back-end rotation help, as the team’s starting five is set on paper as Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, Reese Olson, and Anderson.  Troy Melton, Keider Montero, and Sawyer Gipson-Long are among the depth candidates slated for either Triple-A starts, bullpen work, or perhaps just the fifth starter’s role if Anderson is instead deployed as a reliever.

Beyond 2026, however, Olson is under team control and the Tigers hold a $10MM club option on Anderson for 2027.  Skubal, Flaherty, and Mize are all slated to enter free agency next winter, so bringing in a starter on a multi-year contract would help the Tigers lengthen their rotation in 2026 and add some measure of stability going forward.

Skubal’s situation looms large over Detroit’s future plans, as it remains possible that the Tigers could still trade the superstar rather than risk letting him walk for nothing but a compensatory draft pick.  Skubal’s upcoming arbitration hearing provides a more immediate impact to the rotation, as Rosenthal and Sammon note that the Tigers’ ability to spend on Bassitt, Giolito, or other roster upgrades will surely be impacted by whether or not Skubal will cost $19MM or $32MM in 2026.

RosterResource estimates the Tigers’ 2026 payroll at roughly $171.2MM, which is up from their $154.7MM estimated payroll from the end of the 2025 campaign.  The $13MM gap in Skubal’s salary possibilities isn’t nothing, but Detroit fans eager to see the team make a bigger transactional splash won’t be pleased if the club is resisting even a relatively modest investment in the Bassitt/Giolito tier of players.  Broadcasting uncertainty is also a revenue factor, as the Tigers are one of nine teams who have ended their agreements with Main Street Sports.

Chris Bassitt Interested In Return To Blue Jays In 2026

By | at

After last night’s heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the Dodgers, the Blue Jays have been thrust into the offseason on a far more somber note than they were hoping when they headed back to Toronto one win away from a World Series championship. For several of the team’s players, however, yesterday also marked their last official day as a member of the organization before they became free agents earlier today. One such player is right-hander Chris Bassitt, but the veteran told reporters (including MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson) that he hopes he’ll have another chance to play with this group of Blue Jays.

There’s certainly room in the Toronto rotation mix for Bassitt to return. Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, and Jose Berrios all figure to enter Spring Training with locked-in rotation jobs next spring, but that still leaves two spots open for reunions or external additions. Internal options exist to fill those holes. Eric Lauer and Bowden Francis both started plenty of games for the Jays this year, while the farm system boasts youngsters like Adam Macko and even rehabbing top prospect Ricky Tiedemann, both of whom could impact the big league club next year in theory.

The Jays will likely want more certainty than those internal options can provide for their rotation next year, however, and Bassitt can offer that. He’s made at least 30 starts in four consecutive seasons now, pitching to a 3.77 ERA with a 4.01 FIP in that time. Three of those seasons came with Toronto as part of a three-year, $63MM deal signed prior to the 2023 season. It was more of the same from Bassitt this past year, as he offered the Blue Jays 170 1/3 innings of work while posting a 3.96 ERA and 4.01 FIP. He didn’t slow down much in the second half, either, despite an injury that limited him in late September and cost him spots on the Jays’ Wild Card and ALDS rosters. After posting a 3.69 ERA after the All-Star break in the regular season, he went on to move to the bullpen for the ALCS and became one of the club’s most important arms throughout the final stages of the playoffs with a 1.04 ERA, 1.52 FIP, and 33.3% strikeout rate across seven appearances.

While Bassitt is certainly a useful pitcher even as he looks ahead to his age-37 season, it’s fair to wonder if the Jays might have their sights set higher in free agency this winter. There’s a plethora of quality arms available this winter ranging from Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez, and Dylan Cease at the top of the market to other intriguing options like Zac Gallen, Michael King, and Tatsuya Imai. Meanwhile, hurlers like MacKenzie Gore, Joe Ryan, and Sandy Alcantara could be available on the trade market. For a Blue Jays team that saw how valuable a true ace can be after facing Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the playoffs, it would be understandable if a front-of-the-rotation arm was at the top of their wish list this winter.

That’s not a profile Bassitt can fill, and trade deadline acquisition Shane Bieber could be much more reasonably expected to provide that sort of production if the Jays want to bring back a newly-minted free agent from the 2025 team. With that said, it’s possible the Jays will aim lower as they fill out their rotation or pursue multiple starters. In those cases, a reunion with Bassitt would make much more sense. If Bassitt doesn’t end up returning to Toronto, there’s a number of teams that figure to be on the lookout for pitching help this winter, and he should have little trouble securing a rotation job somewhere even if his age seems likely to limit him to one-year offers.

Blue Jays Notes: Springer, Bassitt, Yesavage

By | at

The World Series continues with Game 4 tonight after last night’s 18-inning marathon that ended with the Dodgers winning 6-5. However, veteran George Springer will not be in the starting lineup for the Blue Jays, though he will seemingly remain on the roster (link via Shi Davidi of Sportsnet). The 36-year-old left last night’s game with what was called “right side discomfort” and underwent an MRI today. “MRI showed that he’s hour-to-hour, day-to-day,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider, “so just see how he kind of navigates the next couple hours.” With Springer out of the lineup, Bo Bichette will serve as DH and bat third.

Toronto will certainly hope that Springer can continue to appear in the World Series, even if in a diminished role. He enjoyed a resurgent season in 2025, as he batted .309/.399/.560 with a 166 wRC+ in 140 games as Toronto’s DH. After posting a roughly league-average output over 2023-24, he increased his walk rate from 9.8% to 11.8% and, more importantly, struck the ball with much more authority on his way to a career-high 46.7% hard-hit rate. The result was a season worth 5.2 fWAR, which stands as Springer’s highest total since his 2019 season with the Astros and the best season of his Blue Jays tenure.

Moving to the pitching side of things, Schneider said that right-hander Chris Bassitt will be available out of the bullpen tonight (link via Mitch Bannon of the Athletic). If he pitches, it would be the first time in his career that he has pitched on consecutive days. Bassitt, 36, started all but one of his 32 appearances for Toronto this year. Though he posted a solid 3.96 ERA along with a respectable 22.6% strikeout rate and a 7.1% walk rate in 170 1/3 regular-season innings, the team has used him as a reliever in the postseason. Bassitt was the fourth pitcher out of Toronto’s bullpen in Game 3, throwing just eight pitches. Indeed, Schneider noted that every one of his relievers is available for tonight’s game except for Eric Lauer, who pitched 4 2/3 innings last night (link via Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet).

Looking ahead slightly, rookie right-hander Trey Yesavage is lined up to start Game 5 tomorrow night (link via Davidi). The 22-year-old began the season at the Single-A level but rode an outstanding strikeout rate to reach the big-league rotation by the end of the year, making three regular-season starts plus four more so far in the postseason. He most recently started Game 1 of the World Series, allowing two earned runs in four innings in an eventual Blue Jays victory, and would be on normal rest for a Game 5 start.

Blue Jays Notes: Bichette, Bassitt, Mattingly

By | at

After winning Game 1 of the World Series in dominant fashion yesterday, the Blue Jays are looking to take a 2-0 lead in the series before they head to L.A. for Game 3 on Monday. They’ll be doing so without star infielder Bo Bichette in the lineup, however. That might sound concerning to Jays fans, given that he’s just be activated from a long layoff that had stretched from the regular season all throughout the playoffs to this point, but Mitch Bannon of The Athletic relays that (according to Jays manager John Schneider) that extended layoff is exactly the reason for today’s day off.

“He’ll be ready to play today, for sure,” Schneider said, as relayed by Bannon. “But really, after the layoff, didn’t want to kill him, you know.”

While Bichette won’t be starting at second base like he did yesterday (or his native position of shortstop, for that matter), Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet relays that the infielder is actually feeling better than expected after his first game action since early September and that Bichette told Schneider he’d be available off the bench today. That’s excellent news for the Blue Jays, as it means they’ll have one of their best hitters available if high leverage moment comes up at some point in today’s game.

Bichette recorded a single and a walk in three plate appearances yesterday and is coming off a regular season where he slashed .311/.357/.483 in 139 games. It goes without saying that having him in the lineup would be preferable to leaving him on the bench, but in conjunction with tomorrow’s travel day today’s decision could allow the Jays to push Bichette more throughout the seven-game series. In the meantime, Isiah Kiner-Falefa is batting eighth and in the lineup at second base in Bichette’s place.

Turning to another injured player, Nicholson-Smith relays that veteran right-hander Chris Bassitt is dealing with a cut/blister on his pitching hand. Bassitt is available to pitch in any game, including Game 2 this evening, after moving to the bullpen for the postseason. That Bassitt won’t be sat down while his blister heals is good news for the Jays considering his excellent work across three scoreless relief appearances this October, but it’s still a concerning update given that even minor injuries to a pitcher’s throwing hand can impact grip and command. It wouldn’t be a shock if the Blue Jays tried to avoid using Bassitt in high leverage moments until they have confidence about how the blister is impacting his mechanics.

In off the field news, meanwhile, Jon Heyman of the New York Post writes that Blue Jays bench coach Don Mattingly could be considering calling it a career after making it to the World Series for the first time across his decades-long career in baseball. Heyman notes that friends of Mattingly “believe retirement is a possibility” after this season, while Mattingly himself didn’t tip his hand on the matter and simply told Heyman “You never know, you never know” when asked about his future. If Mattingly were to call it a career, he’d do so as one of the most accomplished baseball icons of recent vintage. He earned an MVP award during a 14-year MLB career as a player and spent an additional 12 years managing the Dodgers and Marlins, the latter of whom he earned Manager of the Year honors for managing to the playoffs through a COVID-19 outbreak during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

Blue Jays Notes: Santander, Bichette, Rotation

By | at

Toronto will be missing some power from the left side for Game 2 against Seattle. Outfielder Anthony Santander has been scratched with lower back tightness, the team announced. Davis Schneider will replace Santander, playing left field and batting eighth. Santander was originally slotted seventh in the order, but now Ernie Clement will move up to that spot.

Santander was 3-for-13 so far this postseason. He did have one of Toronto’s two hits in the first game of the ALCS. Santander was part of the Blue Jays’ lone scoring opportunity after he ripped a single into right field with one out in the second inning. Victor Robles misplayed the ball, and Santander ended up on second base. An Andres Gimenez pop-out followed by a George Springer groundout would end the threat, and Toronto wouldn’t get a runner beyond first base the rest of the game.

The switch-hitting Santander started three games in the ALDS against the Yankees. He was on the bench against left-hander Max Fried in Game 2. Santander struggled from both sides of the plate in the regular season, but he was especially poor as a right-handed hitter. He hit just .146 in 55 plate appearances as a righty. Santander’s results from the left side weren’t that much better (.185 batting average), but he did pop six home runs, albeit in about three times as many at-bats.

The Blue Jays landed Santander on a five-year, $92.5MM deal this past offseason. Unfortunately, they’ve gotten used to playing without him. A partially dislocated left shoulder in late May cost Santander all of June, July, and August, plus most of September. He returned for the final week of the regular season, appearing in four games. The teams will head to Seattle for Game 3 on Wednesday, so Santander will have tonight and tomorrow to recover.

If Santander’s back doesn’t improve, Toronto could replace him on the ALCS roster. Bo Bichette doesn’t seem like he’ll be among the options to join the team as he continues to deal with a PCL sprain. The video of Bichette running the bases on Saturday didn’t inspire much confidence in a potential return, though manager John Schneider said the shortstop didn’t suffer a setback during the session. “It showed him and us that there’s still a little bit of uncertainty there. And didn’t want to put him in a compromised position,” Schneider told reporters on Sunday, including Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.

Bichette resumed on-field running work last week, but was ultimately left off the ALCS roster. Gimenez picked up another start at shortstop in Game 1 against the Mariners. He’s started every playoff game at the position. With Clement taking Gimenez’s spot at second base and Schneider filling in for Santander in the outfield, Isiah Kiner-Falefa is the only remaining infield option on the bench. Outfielder Joey Loperfido seems like the more likely option to join the roster if Santander can’t continue. Bichette has less than two weeks to get ready for the World Series if Toronto were to advance past Seattle.

Schneider also shared some insight on the pitching side ahead of Game 2, again relayed by Zwelling. Righty Chris Bassitt will be available out of the bullpen for the duration of the series, while the plan is to have fellow right-hander Max Scherzer start Game 4. Schneider added that Scherzer could pitch sooner than Game 4 if an unexpected scenario comes up. The veteran arms did not make the ALDS roster against the Yankees, but seem poised to contribute in this round.

Bassitt went on the 15-day IL on September 19 with lower back tightness. He was not stretched out enough to be ready for the series against New York. Bassitt put together a serviceable year in Toronto’s rotation, finishing the regular season with a 3.96 ERA across 32 appearances. He was coming off an uncharacteristic season in 2024 with a bloated 9.2% walk rate that led to an ERA over 4.00 for the first time since 2016. Bassitt got the control in check this year while pushing his groundball rate back above league-average levels. The steady performance helped him record double-digit wins for the fifth straight campaign. Bassitt was set to enter the playoffs with some momentum, as he had a 3.23 ERA over the final two months of the season. He could be called on as soon as Game 2, with Toronto sending the inexperienced Trey Yesavage to the hill.

Scherzer, on the other hand, has been anything but reliable in his first season with the Blue Jays. He posted a career-worst 5.19 ERA across 17 starts after missing the first three months of the season with a thumb injury. Schneider mentioned not liking how Scherzer matched up against the Yankees as the reason for his omission from the ALDS roster. Scherzer allowing 17 earned runs over 15 innings in September likely didn’t help his case.

The season-long numbers were discouraging, but there were positive signs for Scherzer. His 4.26 SIERA suggests he pitched better than his bloated ERA. Scherzer’s four-seam fastball velocity was up more than a mile per hour compared to last season in Texas. His slider remains an above-average whiff pitch. And even as his skills have diminished, Scherzer still has the temperament of a pitcher you’d like to have on your side in the postseason.

The decision to confine Bassitt to the bullpen and use Scherzer as a starter might have to do with preparation. While neither pitcher has much experience as a reliever, Bassitt did make an appearance out of the bullpen this season. With his turn in the rotation not scheduled to come up again before the All-Star break, Bassitt tossed an inning in relief against the Athletics on July 13. It was only 10 pitches and three batters, but it could be enough to make Bassitt better-suited to enter in the middle of a game.

Blue Jays Add Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer To ALCS Roster; Bo Bichette Not Included

By | at

The Blue Jays have announced the 26 players who will be part of their American League Championship Series roster against the Mariners.  As in the ALDS, the Jays will be using 13 pitchers and 13 position players, though a couple of new arms will be joining the pitching staff.  The full list…

Catchers: Alejandro Kirk, Tyler Heineman
Infielders: Addison Barger, Ernie Clement, Andres Gimenez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Isiah Kiner-Falefa
Outfielders: Nathan Lukes, Anthony Santander, Davis Schneider, George Springer, Myles Straw, Daulton Varsho
Left-handed pitchers: Mason Fluharty, Eric Lauer, Brendon Little
Right-handed pitchers: Chris Bassitt, Shane Bieber, Seranthony Dominguez, Braydon Fisher, Kevin Gausman, Jeff Hoffman, Yariel Rodriguez, Max Scherzer, Louis Varland, Trey Yesavage

Beginning with the most notable omission from the roster, Bo Bichette remains unavailable, as the shortstop has yet to fully recover from a left knee sprain that has kept him out of action since September 6.  Bichette didn’t start any running work until this past Wednesday, but a move to a bit more high-intensity running on the bases yesterday didn’t yield much progress.  Bichette clearly looked to be in discomfort following even this brief session, which created doubt that he would indeed be healthy enough to be activated.

Since Bichette has been able to take batting practice and face live hitting, there had been some speculation that the Jays might use Bichette just in a DH role or even as a pinch-hitting specialist.  Even that limited capacity would involve Bichette having to run in some form if he ended up getting hits, of course, and yesterday’s footage implies that Bichette’s knee is still far from 100 percent.

Technically, the Jays could still activate Bichette at some point during the ALCS if another injury arose.  But the far likelier scenario is that Bichette won’t see any action until the World Series should Toronto advance, and it remains unclear if even 12 more days of rest and rehab will be enough for Bichette to return at all during the Jays’ postseason run.

By this point the Blue Jays have gotten used to playing without Bichette to some extent.  Gimenez has settled in as the glove-first option at shortstop, and the Jays were will able to both win the AL East and defeat the Yankees in the ALDS without Bichette available.  That said, obviously Toronto’s roster is better with Bichette than without, and the Jays figure to miss his bat against the Mariners’ deep pitching staff.

Speaking of rotations, Bassitt and Scherzer return after being left out of the ALCS picture.  Scherzer was omitted since manager John Schneider felt the veteran didn’t match up well against the Yankees in particular, while Bassitt wasn’t fully recovered from a bout of back tightness that sent him to the 15-day injured list on September 19.  The Jays felt they could navigate the five-game ALDS with only three starters (Gausman, Yesavage, Bieber) on the roster, and that proved to be the case, as the relief corps stepped up with a big bullpen-game performance in the clinching Game 4.

Gausman is set to start Game 1, and in all likelihood rookie sensation Yesavage will start Game 2 and Bieber will go in Game 3.  Still, Gausman is the only announced starter to date, so the Blue Jays might still yet creative with their exact deployment of their starters.  Not all five starters will actually start, of course, leaving some question with how Bassitt or Scherzer will be used.  Bassitt has a little more career experience as a reliever, yet Scherzer struggled so much down the stretch that that recent form is a bigger factor for the Jays than Scherzer’s distinguished postseason track record.

Bassitt and Scherzer will be taking the places of relievers Tommy Nance and Justin Bruihl.  Nance was inching his way into higher-leverage work after delivering a 1.99 ERA over 30 1/3 innings in the regular season, but he didn’t look sharp in posting a 13.50 ERA over 1 1/3 innings in the ALDS.  Bruihl was charged for two earned runs in his lone one-third of an inning of ALDS work, and the southpaw was something of a 26th man for much of Toronto’s season, as he logged 13 2/3 innings with a 5.27 ERA.

Blue Jays Notes: Bichette, Scherzer, Bassitt

By | at

The Blue Jays put together an impressive win in four games over the Yankees in the ALDS this past week, and it’s all the more impressive when one considers that they managed to pull it off without one of their star players. Shortstop Bo Bichette has been on the injured list since early September due to a left knee sprain, and did not participate in the Division Series as a result. With the ALCS against the Mariners scheduled to start tomorrow, it seems a decision on Bichette’s status has not yet been made.

Earlier this afternoon, Ben Nicholson Smith of Sportsnet relayed that, per Jays manager John Schneider, Bichette hit against live pitching yesterday and ran the bases today. Schneider added that how Bichette responds to that uptick in activity will help to determine whether or not he’s rostered for the ALCS. Keegan Matheson of MLB.com expanded on that, noting that Schneider suggested the decision on Bichette would be one of the last ones they would make before rosters are announced tomorrow morning. Per Matheson, Bichette still appeared to be experiencing discomfort when he ran the bases today, and he suggested that Bichette might be confined to a DH-only role if he does return to action.

As Matheson notes, a DH role for Bichette would push George Springer into the outfield and force a fellow outfielder like Nathan Lukes or Anthony Santander out of the lineup. That’s surely only something they would do if they were confident that Bichette was healthy enough to contribute substantially at the plate. On the other hand, if Bichette isn’t quite ready to return but making enough progress, Toronto could opt to roster him even if he wouldn’t be available for Game 1. That would come with substantial risk, however, as if he was placed back on the injured list at some point in the ALCS he would not be eligible for the World Series if the Jays advance.

Moving on to the rotation, Toronto made the somewhat bold decision to leave both Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer off their ALDS roster. Both veteran starters were left off for understandable reasons; Scherzer struggled badly late in the year, while Bassitt wasn’t fully stretched out after being placed on the injured list in late September. That was fine for a five-game set where the team could lean heavily on Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, and Shane Bieber to handle starting duties, but Schneider acknowledged to reporters (including Nicholson-Smith) that both Bassitt and Scherzer will be in the mix for the club’s roster given the need for “more length” in a seven-game series. All of those roster decisions will be made by 9am CT tomorrow morning, when rosters are due for both clubs.

Max Scherzer, Chris Bassitt, Bo Bichette Left Off Blue Jays’ ALDS Roster

By | at

12:30PM: Manager John Schneider provided Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling (multiple links) and other media with some context on the roster decisions.  Beyond the lack of running, Bichette has yet to face higher-velocity or pitches with movement in his cage work.  Bassitt wasn’t quite stretched out enough to be ready, whereas Scherzer was omitted because Schneider didn’t like how he matched up with New York specifically; Scherzer would likely have been included had the Red Sox defeated the Yankees in the wild card series.

9:20AM: The Blue Jays announced their official 26-man roster for their AL Division Series matchup with the Yankees that begins today.  Toronto will take 13 pitchers and 13 position players into action against New York, with the following breakdown…

Catchers: Alejandro Kirk, Tyler Heineman
Infielders: Addison Barger, Ernie Clement, Andres Gimenez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Isiah Kiner-Falefa
Outfielders: Nathan Lukes, Anthony Santander, Davis Schneider, George Springer, Myles Straw, Daulton Varsho
Left-handed pitchers: Justin Bruihl, Mason Fluharty, Eric Lauer, Brendon Little
Right-handed pitchers: Shane Bieber, Seranthony Dominguez, Braydon Fisher, Kevin Gausman, Jeff Hoffman, Tommy Nance, Yariel Rodriguez, Louis Varland, Trey Yesavage

The roster notably doesn’t include three players battling injuries (Bo Bichette, Chris Bassitt, Ty France) and one prominent name in Max Scherzer.  Omitting Scherzer and Bassitt from the roster means that the Blue Jays seem to be locking into rookie Yesavage to start one game of the series, and then perhaps turning to a bullpen game in Game Four.

It wasn’t long ago that the Jays seemed to have almost a surplus of postseason rotation candidates, between Gausman, Bieber, Scherzer, Bassitt, Lauer, Jose Berrios, and Yesavage waiting in the wings at Triple-A.  Toronto moved Lauer into a relief role at the start of September and also tapped Berrios for bullpen work late in the month, though a case of elbow inflammation sidelined Berrios and left his postseason availability up in the air.

Bassitt also hit the 15-day injured list on September 19 due to lower back tightness, but seemed to be on pace to be part of the ALDS roster.  It isn’t yet known if Bassitt might’ve had some sort of setback in his ramp-up work, or if perhaps he or the Jays had enough uncertainty over his health that the team didn’t want to take the risk of issuing Bassitt a roster spot.  If a player has to be removed from a postseason roster due to injury, the player is ineligible to play in the following series, so it could be that the Blue Jays didn’t want to take the chance of losing Bassitt for the ALCS if the Jays defeat New York.

For Scherzer, his two World Series and 143 career playoff innings didn’t carry as much weight to the Jays as the veteran’s recent form.  The right-hander posted a 9.00 ERA over his final six starts and 25 innings in the regular season, and Scherzer only completed six innings in one of those outings.  One of those tough starts came against the Yankees on September 7, when Scherzer allowed four runs on three hits and four walks over 4 1/3 innings in a 4-3 New York victory.

Scherzer ended up with a 5.19 ERA over 85 innings in 2025, as he missed most of the first half dealing with injuries.  Just prior to his rough final six starts, it seemed like Scherzer was locking into form with a string of five consecutive quality starts and a 2.25 ERA over 32 innings.  The Jays signed Scherzer to a one-year, $15.5MM contract last winter in the hopes that he could turn back the clock and provide veteran depth and experience to the rotation, particularly if Toronto happened to advance into the playoffs.  While it is possible he could return for the ALCS, Scherzer will be limited to spectator duty for at least the first leg of the Blue Jays’ postseason run.

It isn’t surprising that Bichette isn’t participating, since as of Wednesday, Bichette had yet to start running drills as part of his rehab from a left PCL sprain.  Bichette hurt his knee almost exactly a month ago, on an awkward slide into home plate on September 6 in another game against the Yankees.  Bichette has been able to take swings in the batting cage, but until he is able to run whatsoever, his status for the rest of the playoffs remains unclear if the Jays manage to advance deeper into October.

Ty France is another noteworthy player left off the roster, as France may still be bothered by the oblique inflammation that has kept him sidelined since September 21.  France’s absence will leave the Jays without some right-handed hitting bench depth, and Guerrero is now the only true first baseman on the roster, though naturally Guerrero isn’t expected to leave the lineup at any point in the series.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top