Blue Jays make surprising announcements regarding pitching staff ahead of ALDS

The Toronto Blue Jays have some answers about the makeup of their pitching staff once the American League Division Series begins, but there are still some questions looming ahead of Game One on Saturday.

Blue Jays make surprising announcements regarding pitching staff ahead of ALDS

One thing they know for sure is that José Berrios will miss the first round of the playoffs. Berrios hit the IL in the final week of the regular season. It was the first time in the 10-year career that the 31-year-old right hander has been on the injured list. According to General Manager Ross Atkins, Berrios hasn't resumed throwing since he hit the IL.

Berrios is not the only Blue Jays starter trying to work his way back from the injured list. 36-year-old Chris Bassitt hit the IL on September 20, with lower back inflammation. He could return for the ALDS depending on how he feels after Thursday when he will throw a simulated game. Bassitt was having a strong finish to 2025 before the injury flared up. In nine starts since the beginning of August, Bassitt recorded a 3.23 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 47.1 innings pitched, allowing just four home runs.

Bassitt didn't get a ton of run support in those games as he was 0-4 and the team went 2-7 in those nine starts, even though Bassitt pitched into the fifth inning in each of those outings while allowing no more than three runs in any of those starts.

However, one pitcher that will be a part of their plans is the youngster Trey Yesavage. The 22-year-old has only made three starts at the MLB level, in a year where he started in Single-A Ball and moved up through five levels of professional baseball to reach the majors just over a year after being drafted. Yesavage has been as good as advertised with the Blue Jays in his three outings, Yesavage has a 3.21 ERA allowing five earned runs in 14 innings with 16 strikeouts.

Atkins told reporters, "“I would expect him to be a part of us preventing runs." While Manager John Schneider said, "He’s definitely part of the puzzle” Schneider added. “I have no problem with him starting and no problem with him coming out of the bullpen.”

Regardless of whether Bassitt or Berrios are available, they likely would have been the fourth or fifth option for Toronto to start a game, while Berrios (who was recently moved to the bullpen) may only have earned a start in the event of a serious injury to one of the top three or four guys.

With the ALDS being a best-of-five format most teams will only go four starters deep at the most, giving their "ace" a chance to start twice. Some teams will only go with a three man rotation, electing to use the other starters in swingmen-type roles out of the pen. The Blue Jays are lucky that they have the depth this year to sustain a few injuries, and still have options to play with.

It is very likely Kevin Gausman will start the series. Gausman put up tremendous numbers in the second half of the season. In 13 games he held opponents to a .201 batting average and .241 on-base percentage. He struck out 85 hitters in 83.1 innings pitched and had a WHIP of 0.936 and 2.81 ERA.

Shane Bieber, the Blue Jays "hired gun" at the trade deadline will likely start Game Two. In seven starts, Bieber has 37 strikeouts in 40.1 innings pitched, with a 1.017 WHIP, a 5.29 strikeout to walk ratio and an ERA+ of 120.

Beyond those two it looks like it could be a toss up between Yesavage and Max Scherzer. The rookie or the future Hall of Famer. Yesavage has had better numbers in September than Scherzer, but Scherzer is a three-time Cy Young Award winner, and two-time World Series Champion. It will very likely depend on how the Blue Jays have fared in the first two games on what decision the Blue Jays make for the third and, if necessary, fourth and fifth games.

The Blue Jays go into this series with some options, we'll see if they play their cards right this time around as they look to erase those painful memories of 2022 and 2023.