DUNEDIN, Fla. — On the starting pitching front, everything has been rather ho-hum in Toronto Blue Jays camp. That’s a good thing — teams want pitchers to progress through spring training as expected with little-to-no drama or news.
The same can’t be said about the New York Yankees’ rotation. Last week, the club learned that right-hander Luis Gil, the reigning American League Rookie of the Year, would be out for three months with a lat strain.
That was followed on Monday with the devastating news that ace Gerrit Cole will require Tommy John surgery.
The right-hander, a six-time All-Star who’s been one of the best pitchers of his generation, will undergo the procedure to repair a torn right ulnar collateral ligament on Tuesday and miss the entire 2025 season.
Big picture, that’s a massive blow to the defending AL champions, whose starting rotation has gone from a strength to weakness in a matter of weeks. You could make the argument that the Yankees will now deploy the worst rotation in the division.
Which leads to a natural question: how important of a role will the starting staffs play in deciding the East?
“Well, I think you could probably say that about every division,” responded Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman following his spring outing on Monday. “You’re only going to go as far as your pitching staff is going to take you, unless you have an unbelievable offence, and that’s pretty rare.”
“I feel really good with where we’re at,” added the right-hander. “I think as a rotation, we obviously have a lot of guys who have done it. We’ve got to (have) one of the highest (number of career) starts throughout a starting five in baseball. And so, that’s good. But we also got to be smart when it comes to that.”
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Gausman is joined in the rotation by Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt, Bowden Francis and, of course, Max Scherzer. The 17-year veteran has received much of the attention this spring.
“You watch him throw and it’s just different to be honest,” said Gausman. “He’s a Hall of Famer already and so his ability to make the ball move is pretty impressive.”
But it’s actually Gausman himself who’s most integral to the Blue Jays’ rotation.
He was bothered by right shoulder fatigue last spring which cascaded into him starting late and playing catchup for a large chunk of the campaign. However, so far this spring, Gausman has been completely healthy as he methodically ramps up for the regular season.
If that ultimately results in a version of the right-hander that closer resembles his work from 2022 and ’23, when he received Cy Young votes, then the Blue Jays’ rotation could profile among the best in the league.
Gausman made his second start of the spring on Monday and allowed three runs on four hits over 2.1 innings in the Blue Jays’ 8-3 win over the Houston Astros at TD Ballpark. The process is more important than the results at this time of year and, to that end, he’s checking more boxes as Opening Day draws closer.
“Velo and delivery are the kind of stuff we’re looking at. Both were really good,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “So, just another good step in the right direction getting ready for the season for Kev.”
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Gausman’s four-seam fastball topped out at 96 m.p.h. and averaged 95 m.p.h., one mile per hour more than where it sat last year. He tossed 50 pitches and worked in his new slider, which generated three whiffs on nine offerings.
“It was really good today,” Gausman said of the pitch. “It was definitely a step forward from the last start. It’s always good when you’re throwing a new pitch to see it get better. Now it’s just about pounding the zone with it a little more. Got a groundout on it, got some punchouts on it.
“Anytime I can get a swing and miss on another pitch, I’ll take it.”
Translation: More welcome ho-hum for the Blue Jays’ rotation during a time when their rival is facing the worst.
NEWS AND NOTES:
Reliever Erik Swanson (right elbow discomfort) will see Dr. Keith Meister on Thursday. The club will know more about the Swanson’s injury after that, but right now it’s looking like he won’t be ready for opening day … Reliever Ryan Burr (right shoulder fatigue) could resume throwing this week … Daulton Varsho, who is recovering from right rotator cuff surgery, played catch with John Schneider on Sunday and felt “probably the best he’s felt,” according to the manager. It’s a step in the right direction for the centre fielder, who threw at 100 feet and will aim to increase that distance in the coming days. Varsho has been in the lineup as a designated hitter during spring games but has yet to play the field.
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