Chris Bassitt’s Best Fit on the 2026 Blue Jays Is in a New Role
If Chris Bassitt returns to the Toronto Blue Jays this offseason, he might be more well-suited for a new role.
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Chris Bassitt is a free agent this offseason after coming off a three-year, $63 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays in which he enjoyed some of the most successful seasons of his career.
The 36-year-old veteran with 11 big-league seasons under his belt could seek a reunion with the Blue Jays, but it might be in a different role than before.
While Bassitt has been a middle-of-the-rotation solid starting pitcher for the majority of his MLB career, he showcased a new skillset in the 2025 postseason: the ability to pitch out of the bullpen.
This is not simply about throwing him in the bullpen and having him pitch the exact same as he normally does, because Bassitt was able to unleash his pitch arsenal in a completely new way when given this flexibility.
Bassitt has worked his whole career as a starter and certainly deserves a hefty price tag to start games for a wide number of teams, but with the Jays’ recent signing of one of the top free agent pitchers in Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce from the KBO, Toronto’s rotation has become rather full.
This pitching staff could certainly use his stability, and if he chooses to return to Toronto, Bassitt may find himself providing value in a different role for the 2026 Blue Jays.
Postseason Heroics
When the Blue Jays entered the 2025 postseason as the No. 1 seeded team in the American League, Chris Bassitt was left off their ALDS roster due to injury concerns near the end of the season.
Alongside fellow starters Max Scherzer and José Berríos, Toronto decided to put their trust in rookie superstar Trey Yesavage against the New York Yankees over veterans who had been having injury issues in the latter half of the season.
He pitched 8.2 innings in the playoffs this year to the tune of a 1.04 ERA (one earned run) including five appearances in the World Series worth six innings of work. In many ways, Bassitt saved his best for when the team needed it most.
Parts of the Blue Jays’ bullpen faltered during the postseason (Fisher, Fluharty, Little, Rodríguez) and Bassitt’s presence in relief was more than welcome in Toronto’s quest for their third World Series title.
His fastest pitches of the season came in the most important games, and while Bassitt isn’t necessarily known for having a lot of velocity, it can fool hitters when he turns the heat up a bit more than usual. In his seven postseason outings this year, Bassitt threw eight fastballs that clocked in at 94.0 mph or faster — equalling his total of such fastballs in the entire 2025 regular season.
Bassitt had gone six consecutive playoff outings without allowing an earned run until Game 7 of the World Series where he finally seceded one. He only allowed three hits and two walks over this span, giving him an incredible 0.577 WHIP in the playoffs this season.
Suffice to say, Bassitt exceeded expectations in his stint as a reliever, and this could signify a different role in his future.
Reunion with the Blue Jays?
It’s still obviously very up in the air whether Bassitt would be open to a role change heading into his age-37 season. He likely won’t get a very lengthy deal due to his age and will only reach two or three seasons at its longest possibility, and Toronto has a soft spot for the veteran righty.
Shortly after the World Series ended and the Blue Jays fell just short of their ultimate goal, Bassitt joined many other Jays remarked that they hoped to return to this group and try again next season.
Not only is there a will from Bassitt’s side for a reunion, but the Blue Jays certainly recognize the work that he’s put in for them over his three-year stint north of the border as one of Toronto’s most reliable arms.
As mentioned, though, this reunion would have to come in the form of a bullpen role, as the Jays simply don’t have room for Bassitt in their rotation. After bringing in both Cease and Ponce, the Jays would have no other option than for Bassitt to appear out of their bullpen.
It would be completely understandable for Bassitt to oppose this idea and decide to search for a starting job elsewhere, as he’s spent his entire career working toward contracts that reward him with the pay of a starting pitcher.
It’s not to say that a reunion isn’t possible — it would just require Bassitt to put aside some of his goals as a veteran starter to pander to the needs of the Blue Jays. The bottom line is that if Bassitt really wants to return to Toronto, he’ll have to adapt to how they’ll choose to best use him.
Bullpen Improvement
Not only would Bassitt’s likely only role with the Blue Jays be as a reliever, but he’d also prove to be a veteran presence in what is one of the youngest bullpens in baseball.
Mason Fluharty and Braydon Fisher are two arms that were heavily relied upon by Toronto throughout this season and in the playoffs, and they were both rookies this year.
Not to mention that Brendon Little, Tommy Nance, Louis Varland, and other Blue Jay relievers are experiencing some of their first full-time action as big-league relievers. Adding Bassitt to this bullpen provides a sense of veteran leadership amongst the relievers and could help to preserve the familial bond that the 2025 Blue Jays shared with one another.
Furthermore, Bassitt’s pitch mix would also be a great asset in the bullpen, as he differs greatly from the rest of Toronto’s relievers in what he throws and how he throws it.
His 32º arm angle would be the lowest among this bullpen and his curveball is the fourth-slowest in the league. His ability to mix speeds with his sinker (91.6 mph), curveball (71.3 mph), and splitter (83.6 mph) combined with his arsenal having a total of eight (yes, eight) pitches makes Bassitt a true weapon to bring out in relief.
What we saw in the postseason this year from the veteran was an elite ability to change speeds with hitters. While the rest of the Jays’ bullpen is capable of throwing 95+ mph fastballs with consistency (except Fluharty), Bassitt’s wide range of pitches and speeds could be an excellent weapon late in games.
Even if his role is that of a long reliever to throw multiple innings in blowout games occasionally, he’d still likely find success in this role too.
Closing Thoughts
It’s ultimately up to Chris Bassitt himself to decide where to sign, but if his choice brings him to Toronto he’ll have to settle for a relief role.
Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Dylan Cease, Shane Bieber, and Cody Ponce are five strong options in the rotation, and it just seems as though the team prioritized new options in their rotation this offseason.
That said, Bassitt was an incredibly important piece of the 2025 Blue Jays season, and he will always be remembered for his heroics out of the bullpen in the postseason and for his innate ability to go deep into starts with regularity.
Whatever free agency has in store for him and wherever he chooses his eventual landing spot to be, his chances of starting games in 2026 and beyond increase exponentially with any other team than the Blue Jays.
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Ethan has been writing for Just Baseball since 2024 and is fascinated by how sabermetric statistics can assist our understanding of outcomes and probability in baseball.…