"The Blue Jays' early signings of Dylan Cease and KBO returnee have deepened a rotation that already included Trey Yesavage, Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber and Jose Berrios. Lefty and righty Yariel Rodriguez give Toronto a pair of quality swing options, too, and the Jays still have Bowden Francis and former top prospect Ricky Tiedemann (who should be recovered from 2024 Tommy John surgery) in the upper minors as well."
"The magnitude of Ponce's three-year, $30MM contract presumably puts him squarely into the rotation. Barring a move to a six-man rotation or a spring injury, Toronto will have more starters than rotation places available. Injuries can turn a "surplus" into a deficiency pretty quickly, particularly when it comes to pitchers, but the Jays are willing to trade Berrios, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports."
"Berrios, 32 next May, has been an iron man for the Jays and Twins throughout his big league tenure. He's started at least 30 games every year since 2018, with the exception of the shortened 2020 season, when he started a full slate of 12 games. No pitcher has started more games (234) or totaled more innings (1367 1/3) than Berrios in that span of eight years."
Toronto added Dylan Cease and a KBO returnee, bolstering a rotation that already included Trey Yesavage, Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber and Jose Berrios. Yariel Rodriguez (lefty and righty) provide quality swing options, and Bowden Francis plus Ricky Tiedemann remain in the upper minors. The three-year, $30MM contract for Ponce likely secures a rotation spot, creating more starters than rotation openings and prompting the team to be willing to trade Berrios. Berrios has been durable, starting at least 30 games most seasons since 2018 and totaling 234 starts and 1,367 1/3 innings. He has a 3.94 ERA, 22.6% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk rate.
Read at MLB Trade Rumors
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