TORONTO – By the time the Blue Jays reached out to Chris Bassitt, he had already done a little research of his own.
Bassitt had a positive impression of Toronto from his visits over the years, and he liked that the city was relatively close to his home state of Ohio.
But seeking further insight on the Blue Jays, he turned to former Athletics teammates Marcus Semien and Matt Chapman. Both provided positive reviews, so once talks started up with the Blue Jays’ front office Bassitt made it clear: he didn’t want an elaborate sales pitch.
“You don’t have to sell me,” he said. “If I’m talking to you, I want to be there.”
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays had also been doing some research. They knew the numbers – he posted a 3.42 ERA in 181.2 innings this past season – and his ability to throw seven pitches for strikes on the way to weak contact.
Beyond the obvious, the Blue Jays also saw Bassitt as a competitive pitcher who could take the ball in a playoff game – an impression the 33-year-old certainly reinforced during his introductory call with Toronto media Monday.
“If I win, it doesn’t do much for me,” Bassitt said. “If I lose, it drives me absolutely bonkers.”
While the addition of Bassitt gives the Blue Jays a strong starting rotation entering the 2023 season, their off-season work isn’t done yet. They’re open to further pitching upgrades, according to GM Ross Atkins, but the front office will be more focused on bolstering the lineup.
“Now we’ll shift to offensive improvements,” Atkins said. “We’ll continue to think about raising our ceiling in that area.”
The 2022 Blue Jays led the American League in batting average (.264), on-base percentage (.329) and slugging percentage (.431) while ranking second in the league in runs scored. At the same time, the Teoscar Hernandez trade leaves the Blue Jays without one of their top offensive producers. According to Atkins, the most likely scenario has the Blue Jays adding one position player – ideally a left-handed bat and most likely an outfielder.
Asked whether the Blue Jays see more intriguing offensive players in free agency or trade, Atkins said such an addition could “easily” come from either avenue. FanGraphs’ payroll tracker places the Blue Jays just over the $233 million competitive balance tax at $233.6 million, which would make the Blue Jays a CBT payor for the first time in franchise history. Even so, the Blue Jays can continue spending.
“We have room to grow for sure. We’re not thinking of anything as minor,” Atkins said. “We’re a projected 90-win team or above. The value of improving your team at that point is so significant that we will work hard to do that. We’re not limited financially to do that. When we think about how we use our resources, we’re just thinking about everything being sustainable and it making sense from a business and baseball standpoint.”
The free agent market has thinned considerably in recent weeks with potential Blue Jays target Michael Brantley re-signing with the Astros over the weekend (they again showed some interest in Brantley, who they nearly signed two winters ago). Still, free agent outfielder Michael Conforto remains available, and the Blue Jays have shown some interest there, too.
Of course if the free agent market thins out further, the Blue Jays will have the chance to bolster their offence via trade. While the Blue Jays are open to keeping their trio of young catchers in place, Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk and Gabriel Moreno have all drawn ample trade interest at a time that the free agent catching market has thinned out. There’s choice here, should the Blue Jays want it.
“We have an incredible position of strength with our catching and we’re 100 per cent comfortable remaining in that position of strength, which would mean not subtracting from it,” Atkins said. “But the market for catching remains exceptionally strong (and) we have a very good sense for it because of us having depth there.”
All things considered, then, the Blue Jays’ roadmap appears pretty clear from this point. They like their pitching, with Atkins describing the Toronto rotation as top 10 or better in MLB and the bullpen as top five. If there’s an improvement to be had there, the Blue Jays will explore the fit for another arm.
But the need for offence is more pressing now, and that’s where the Blue Jays will push hardest in the weeks leading up to spring training. Maybe that’ll lead to a trade or perhaps to further free agent spending. One way or another, though, the Blue Jays believe more offence will help support the pitching staff that’s now more or less in place.
“I think they’re capable of winning a World Series or I would not have come,” Bassitt said. “I’m here to play to win a World Series. It’s that simple.”
