4 areas where the Blue Jays need to invest the most in this winter

Back-End Rotation Depth

Heading into the 2025 season, the bulk of the spots in the Jays’ starting rotation appears pretty much set. Barring any unexpected trades, Kevin Gausman, José Berríos and Chris Bassitt will be back to anchor the front end of the pitching staff. One could also argue that with the breakout second half performance by Bowden Francis, he has also already locked up a fourth spot in the starting five.

Yariel Rodríguez will be back next season, with Alek Manoah also a possibility in the latter half of 2025 to compete for the final rotation slot. Both had shown signs of success in the role in 2024, but both also had their run into injuries along the way. In particular for Manoah, he even had to undergo season-ending hybrid Tommy John surgery to repair his UCL. On top of that, many of the Jays’ starting pitching prospects in their minor league system were also decimated by injuries, including top pitching prospect Ricky Tiedemann.

Therefore, the Jays really need to invest in an arm or two to add valuable starting pitching depth to the organization this winter. That is because based on what has transpired the past couple of years, they will likely end up needing it badly. Jack Flaherty, Nick Pivetta, Luis Severino and their old buddy Yusei Kikuchi are solid back end of the rotation options that could be found in this year’s free agency. If some decide to get out of their options, Sean Manaea and Michael Wacha would become viable options as well. However, if the Jays want to aim big and go for a big fish to head the rotation while pushing the rest back a rung, then we may be talking about adding a Corbin Burnes, Shane Bieber, Max Fried, or even the improbable Gerrit Cole if he ends up opting out.