With Marcus Stroman, Marco Estrada, R.A. Dickey, J.A. Happ, Jesse Chavez and Drew Hutchison in hand it would appear that the Toronto Blue Jays have a full rotation for 2016. This may not be the rotation fans had hoped for, but the Blue Jays have five MLB-calibre starters and a still-interesting young hurler in Hutchison.
The lack of star power may be a focus for some, but the lack of depth could end up being an even bigger issue. As Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro explained to reporters at the winter meetings in Nashville, when he arrived there were no MLB-ready pitchers in the team’s minor-league system.
“There were five guys named blank,” Shapiro said. “The guys named blank don’t contribute many innings.”
The state of the triple-A rotation may not seem like a priority for a team in win-now mode, but over the course of a gruelling 162-game season every club needs more than five or six starters barring exceptional luck with injuries. As it stands now the Blue Jays are a couple of barking elbows away from trouble as they lack starting options beyond Hutchison.
Over the last five years the Blue Jays have averaged 11.6 starters used per year and have never had less than nine different starters. Seventh, eighth and ninth starters don’t move a lot of merchandise or put butts in the seats, but they are essential to account for the unexpected as the season goes on, and the Blue Jays need arms, even after reportedly adding Brad Penny and Wade Leblanc.
Here’s a look at some of the guys the team could bring in on minor-league deals to help fill in the blanks.
Yohan Flande
Pitchers who have only called Coors Field home are always intriguing because it’s possible that escaping the mile-high atmosphere will lead to success.
Age: 29
2015 Stats: 68.1 IP, 10 starts, 5.66 K/9, 3.29 BB/9, 1.84 HR/9, 4.74 ERA, 5.68 FIP, -0.4 WAR
Pros
Flande’s greatest strength is his ability to keep the ball on the ground. The southpaw sinkerballer has an excellent 58.9 percent ground ball rate at the major-league level. That’s creeping up on Aaron Sanchez territory.
Cons
The overall statistics are pretty ugly and Flande’s secondary stuff really doesn’t miss bats. The 29-year-old’s velocity is only average and when he leaves his sinker up things get messy.
Outlook
Signing Flande would be betting on his departure from Colorado solving his long-ball problem. Rogers Centre isn’t necessarily the best place to do that, but the Blue Jays have a great infield for someone so reliant on his sinker.
Gavin Floyd
Floyd was a pitcher the Blue Jays have been linked to repeatedly in the past and could be worth pursuing again.
Age: 32
2015 Stats: 13.1 IP, no starts, 4.73 K/9, 2.70 BB/9, 0.00 HR/9, 2.70 ERA, 3.21 FIP, 0.1 WAR
Pros
While Floyd hasn’t been a reliable workhorse since 2012 he did shine in his most recent turn as a starter with the Braves in 2014. If his elbow is finally healthy, his ceiling is higher than most depth options. Although he was throwing out of the bullpen in 2015 he averaged 92 mph on his fastball, showing his arm has some juice left in it.
Cons
Floyd was used exclusively as a reliever last year and that might be the role he seeks out going forward.
Outlook
If Floyd is able to start, he can be a useful back-end type, but injuries and a potentially changing role make penciling him in as rotation depth easier said than done.
Eric Stults
As recently as 2013 Stults was three-win pitcher for the San Diego Padres, but for most of his career he’s been a minor-league journeymen. He pitched 90 innings in the upper minors last season, showing a willingness to ride the bus.
Age: 36
2015 Stats: 47.2 IP, eight starts, 5.85 K/9, 2.45 BB/9, 1.89 HR/9, 5.85 ERA, 5.38 FIP, -0.3 WAR
Pros
The fading velocity that comes with age should not hamper a crafty lefty like Stults. His fastball averaged 87.3 mph in 2015 which was actually better than the 86.9 he managed in his career year of 2013. The old southpaw is reliable if nothing else and although last year his major-league cameo was ugly, his production in the minors was still solid.
Cons
There is absolutely no upside to Stults whatsoever and even if he’s a good bet to bounce back to a mid-4 ERA or so he’s still a replacement-level option. He’s perhaps the least exciting on a list of pitchers who are not exciting by definition.
Outlook
Stults can be a perfectly good emergency option who’s unlikely to completely implode or have his arm fall off. You could do worse.
Cory Luebke
Once a rising star, Luebke hasn’t been healthy for years, but he’s certainly worth a flier as a depth piece.
Age: 30
2015 Stats: N/A
Pros
Luebke was a premier talent and after years in the injury rehab wilderness he finally saw some action in the minors in 2015. The left-hander has already drawn preliminary interest from the Blue Jays.
Cons
Luebke hasn’t pitched in the major leagues since 2012 and it’s hard to know where his stuff is at. As someone who can’t be relied on he isn’t a good insurance policy for any of the Blue Jays’ major-league starters.
Outlook
Luebke is a lottery ticket, nothing more, nothing less.