Top 5 options to fill out the Blue Jays starting Rotation

As it stands right now, the Blue Jays still have a hole to fill in their starting rotation. Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Alek Manoah, and Hyun Ryu look like they could be one of MLB’s best top four, but the 5th spot is still a major question mark.

There are a few internal candidates that could fill that whole, like Ross Stripling, Nate Pearson, and Trent Thornton, but none of these are guaranteed full-time starters. As much as the 5th rotation spot may seem unimportant, this was a role that was filled by Steven Matz last season, who played an integral role in the Jays coming so close to the playoffs. Going into the season it’s important that they fill that void, because as we saw in 2021, every game matters.

I’ve compiled a list of five guys who I think the Blue Jays could bring in to fill out the rotation from throughout the league. I only included unrestricted free agents and  players who could realistically be acquired by trade. That means you won’t be hearing names like German Marquez or Sandy Alcantara, since their teams have made it clear that they’re not on the market.

It’s obviously important to consider past performance, but for this list, I have them ranked by how good I project them to be for the Blue Jays. That being said, I think all five of these players would immediately improve the rotation and could all reasonably be acquired, whether that be by trade or through free agency.