Blue Jays: Dark horse rotation candidates for 2019

The Blue Jays are expected to add some depth to their starting rotation picture this offseason, but they have several in-house candidates that could fit.

The offseason is still relatively young, especially based on the pace things have worked over the past couple of seasons in baseball, but so far the Blue Jays have been pretty quiet.

They have made a few roster decisions such as releasing Troy Tulowitzki, trading Aledmys Diaz to the Houston Astros, and non-tendering and ultimately releasing Yangervis Solarte as well. As far as acquisitions go, things have been pretty quiet outside of a few minor moves like the recent MiLB contract signed by Eric Sogard.

That should change, especially when it comes to the pitching staff for the 2019 roster. From what we’ve heard from Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro so far, it doesn’t sound like they’re prioritizing next season much at all, but once better bargains start to shape up later in the offseason then I would expect that to change.

The bullpen could definitely use some help, but I would argue that the Blue Jays should probably make sure that they sign at least one or two starters to help fill out the depth chart. If Atkins elects not to do that, or the market doesn’t play into their hands the way they are hoping, there are probably enough in-house options to go through the season, as long as Marcus Stroman and/or Aaron Sanchez don’t end up traded, and can stay reasonably healthy.

Some of the names are probably pretty familiar to you, but let’s have a look at who might round out the rotation beyond the obvious trio of Stroman, Sanchez, and Ryan Borucki.