Toronto Blue Jays Make Big Decision on Wednesday with Key Starting Pitcher

According to reports, the Toronto Blue Jays are skipping Chris Bassitt's turn in the starting rotation against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. They will start lefty Yusei Kikuchi instead.
May 8, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt (40) throws a
May 8, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt (40) throws a / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
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The Toronto Blue Jays were rained out on Tuesday night against the Baltimore Orioles, and as a result they are pushing right-hander Chris Bassitt's turn in the rotation back. The Blue Jays will start lefty Yusei Kikuchi on Wednesday instead.

According to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet, there could be a few things at play with Bassitt:

Makes sense with Bassitt's issues against lefties cropping up again of late and the Orioles having 6-7 lefty/switch options.

Jays have a lot of options now for how to structure rotation for 13 in a row that begin Friday.

Murphy also looks at it from this perspective:

The counter to this would be that the Orioles have tattooed lefties this year, in general, and that a couple of their key switch hitters are better from the right side.

Rays also very good vs LHP.

So maybe it's just a routine-based call.

Either way, the 35-year-old Bassitt is likely to take the mound this weekend against the Tampa Bay Rays instead. He's currently 3-5 with a 5.06 ERA over eight starts, having struck out 40 batters in 42.2 innings.

He was signed to a three-year deal before the 2023 season and will be a free agent after 2025.

Lifetime, Bassitt is 65-47 with a 3.55 ERA over 10 seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, New York Mets and Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays and Orioles will play on Wednesday at 12:35 p.m. ET. Kikuchi will be opposed by Orioles' righty Kyle Bradish, who is 0-1 with a 1.86 ERA.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.