The Toronto Blue Jays have done what a lot of teams deemed as “dream teams” are supposed to do. At least according to the books, they bought themselves a rotation! They got Kevin Gausman for $110 million, José Berríos for $131 million, and Chris Bassitt for $63 million. For a while, that patchwork of veteran talent certainly did the trick. But here is the kicker—renting a rotation doesn’t mean that you have built one. And now that those contracts are inching closer to expiration, the elephant in the room is—what happens next then?

Honestly, Toronto isn’t unaware of the problem they have. In fact, they have been aware of this for a while now. Back in 2020, the front office realized that they were falling behind in pitching development. So they built a pitching lab, chased down the metrics, and jumped on the velocity wagon like everyone else. Right now, there is a gap in the pitching, and The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon perfectly summed it up.

Bannon simply pointed out the fact as it is: “While other clubs have stocked rotations with homegrown arms, the Jays have filled their pitching needs by handing out large contracts.” And he is right, isn’t he? While other teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays are churning out the arms from within, the Jays have relied on band-aids. Instead, they have relied on minor league deals, waiver pickups, and trades to survive each season. But that’s not a sustainable strategy.

So the Blue Jays are trying again. After another rough year in the minors, they have cleaned house. They let go of pitching coordinator Cory Popham and brought in Justin Lehr. He is a former big leaguer with development experience in Houston and San Francisco. His task? Fix what’s been broken up for years. And make no mistake, talent is there. Tiedemann is throwing gas, and Maroudis has seen his fastball velocity tick up. But nothing matters unless someone makes the leap to the big league.

Toronto has the tech, the budget, and the urgency to make it happen. They need to, because no matter how much they spend, they can’t fake a pitching pipeline forever. The Jays know they can’t afford to stumble much longer—and not now, especially with the Yankees rolling into town. The present-day roster needs to deliver results.

Can Toronto Blue Jays make a statement against Yankees?

Something major is happening this week for the Jays. A critical four-game series against the New York Yankees at Rogers Center kicks off on Monday. The AL East is still up for grabs, and the Jays are three games back. If they are going to make a move, this is their shot. They have their pieces. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is as steady as he can be. Alejandro Kirk has great contact skills, and Addison Barger continues to surprise. According to FanGraphs, the Blue Jays rank fourth in batting average and fifth in OBP. So this is not a team struggling to score.

However, for the Blue Jays to make an impact in this series, they must demonstrate their offensive capabilities. Max Scherzer will get the ball Monday in just his third start of the season. He will go head-to-head with Carlos Rodon, who everyone knows is becoming quite a force for the Yankees. Then Tuesday gets a lot spicier, where Gausman, who was rocked by the Yankees earlier this season, will be looking for a bounce-back against Cy Young frontrunner Max Fried.

Then comes Wednesday, when Berríos, who is putting together one of the most underrated seasons in the league, will take the mound. He will face off against Will Warren, who is a sure rookie but a strikeout machine. Then on Thursday, it’s Bassitt vs. Clarke, a matchup that could go in any direction depending on how Bassitt performs. This is not just a measuring stick of a series for the Blue Jays; it could be a potential turning point.

What do you think of the Jays’ pitching? Let us know in the comments.