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