If the Blue Jays' offense is in danger of losing its bite next season, the Toronto team should rely on one of the best starting pitcher rotations in Major League Baseball and potentially add an intriguing Cuban.
Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios and Chris Bassitt make up the top three, while Yariel Rodriguez came into training camp with a strong desire to add variety.
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“I've always liked being a starter, that's who I am,” Rodriguez said in a meeting with reporters in Dunedin earlier this week. The adrenaline that comes with taking the mound as a starter in the first inning is huge. I love that.”
Rodriguez, who signed a five-year, $32 million contract with the Jays earlier this month, used the recent World Baseball Classic to showcase his skills as a starter on the Cuban team.
Yariel Rodriguez was the starter for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic on March 15, 2023 in Tokyo. Photo Richard A. Brooks / AFP
In two starts, against the Netherlands and Australia, he had limited his opponents to just two runs and completed a total of seven and one third innings. The one nicknamed Y-Rod had struck out ten batters, including Xander Bogaerts, Jurickson Profar and Jonathan Schoop, key baseball clients.
Dominant remedy in Japan
In Japan, Rodriguez was used more as a substitute in the Chunichi Dragons uniform. In 56 appearances on the mound last season, he didn't allow a single home run. The shooter also allowed just seven earned runs to maintain an exceptional 1.15 average.
“I had to be a reliever in Japan because there were a lot of veterans ahead of me in the starting lineup, but I won't miss the role of reliever,” Rodriguez said on the Blue Jays' website about his desire to be ready for it.
Alek Manoah, in a Toronto Blue Jays uniform. Photo Elsa/Getty Images via AFP
The problem for the Cuban is that there are also veterans in Toronto. Behind Gausman, Berrios and Bassitt we find the Japanese Yusei Kikuchi and a certain Alek Manoah, who wants to prove his skills from 2022, when he has been invited to the race for the Cy Young Trophy in the USA.
In the manager's mind
The Blue Jays' Grapefruit League games beginning this weekend will undoubtedly serve to complete the rotation of starters.
“I like to play in the hitters’ heads,” Rodriguez warned. I’m very intense and emotional on the mound.”
Rodriguez's main focus will be to play under coach John Schneider's lead to convince him that he can start every fifth game for the Jays starting next season.
The preparation calendar extends over a month until March 25th. The Blue Jays then begin the regular season with ten road games against the Rays, Astros and Yankees as part of new renovations at the Rogers Center in Toronto.