If the Blue Jays’ offense risks lacking bite for next season, the Toronto team should rely on one of the best starting pitching rotations in major league baseball with the potential addition of an intriguing Cuban.
Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios and Chris Bassitt form the top three, while Yariel Rodriguez arrived at training camp with a deep desire to mix things up.
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“I’ve always liked being a starter, that’s what I am,” Rodriguez said earlier this week in Dunedin when meeting with reporters. The adrenaline that comes with being a starter and going to the mound in the first inning is huge. I love that.”
Rodriguez, who signed a five-year, $32 million deal with the Jays earlier this month, took advantage of the last World Baseball Classic to show off his skills as a starter with the Cuban team.
Yariel Rodriguez was the starter for Cuba on March 15, 2023 in Tokyo at the World Baseball Classic. Photo Richard A. Brooks / AFP
In two starts, against the Netherlands and Australia, he had limited his opponents to just two runs, working for a total of seven and a third innings. The one nicknamed Y-Rod had struck out 10 batters, including Xander Bogaerts, Jurickson Profar and Jonathan Schoop, major baseball clients.
Dominant reliever in Japan
In Japan, in the Chunichi Dragons uniform, Rodriguez was used more as a reliever. In 56 appearances on the mound last season, he did not allow a single home run. The gunner also allowed only seven earned runs to maintain an extraordinary average of 1.15.
“I had to be in relief in Japan, because there were a lot of veterans ahead of me in the starting rotation, but I won’t miss the reliever role,” said Rodriguez, quoted on the Blue Jays website, recalling his wish to be up for it.
Alek Manoah, in the Toronto Blue Jays uniform. Photo Elsa / Getty Images via AFP
The problem for the Cuban is that there are also veterans in Toronto. Behind Gausman, Berrios and Bassitt, we find the Japanese Yusei Kikuchi and a certain Alek Manoah, who is trying to find his stuff from 2022, where he was invited into the race for the Cy Young trophy in the American.
In the head of the manager
The games played by the Blue Jays in the Grapefruit League, starting this weekend, will undoubtedly serve to finalize the rotation of starters.
“I like to play in the heads of the hitters,” warned Rodriguez. I’m very intense and emotional on the mound.”
Rodriguez will especially have to make sure to play in the head of manager John Schneider to convince him that he can start one game in five for the Jays from the start of the next campaign.
The preparatory calendar will extend over one month, until March 25. The Blue Jays will then begin the regular season with 10 road games, against the Rays, Astros and Yankees, during new renovations at the Rogers Center in Toronto.
2024-02-23 16:10:00
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