Toronto Blue Jays have completely overhauled their rotation

If the Toronto Blue Jays were to have any hope of contending in 2020, they had to address their starting rotation. They have done exactly that.

One certainly cannot fault the Toronto Blue Jays for looking to address their starting rotation this offseason. Last year, the Blue Jays starters posted a 5.25 ERA, 22nd in baseball. Their hopes of contending in 2020 would depend on those upgrades, especially as their young pitching prospects are still a few years away from contributing.

Needless to say, the Blue Jays did exactly that. Their signing of Hyun-Jin Ryu commanded the most attention, but Toronto did not just sign their new ace. They also brought in Chase Anderson and Tanner Roark to fill out the middle of their rotation. Shun Yamaguchi had a solid career in Japan and could well earn the fifth starter spot. Matt Shoemaker was brought back on a one year deal, filling out the rotation.

With that quartet theoretically filling out the rotation, the Blue Jays face an interesting statistical quirk. None of the top five pitchers in terms of innings pitched last year would be a part of the 2020 rotation. Of course, both Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez were traded last year, so that eliminates two of the top five automatically.

If any members of last year’s rotation were to claim a place in 2020, it may be Trent Thornton. While his 4.84 ERA and 1.406 WHiP may not be impressive, he did show some positive signs. Thornton is an extreme fly ball pitcher, but only 9.3% of any fly balls hit left the yard. He also did a great job in getting pop ups on the infield, with 15% of all fly balls being a simple pop up.

There is also a giant question of health. Neither Ryu nor Shoemaker are exactly the definition of a workhorse, as in their combined 13 major league seasons, they have eclipsed the 150 inning barrier a total of four times. There are likely to be plenty of chances for some of those 2019 starters to get another chance.

Yet, that illustrates the Blue Jays improvements heading into 2020. Those pitchers will be solid depth pieces, instead of being rushed to the majors when they were not ready. Toronto now has depth that was simply not there in 2019.

The Toronto Blue Jays starting rotation will have a much different look in 2020, and that is exactly what had to happen if they were have a chance to contend.