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Chris Bassitt defends his controversial comments: 'It's a situational issue, not a structural one'
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Right after the MLB's trade deadline where the Blue Jays were quite busy, Ross Atkins and manager John Schneider got a group of Blue Jays veterans together to talk to them about the future of the team.
They were told that even with all of the players that left the team, the they emphasized that the Jays are not in a rebuild, and they full expect the team to compete in 2025.
«Never once have I thought, hey, I want to get traded. Never once have I thought, I don't want to be here,» he continued during an interview with Sportsnet colleague Arden Zwelling and me. «I'm not someone to so-called run away from a problem. I want to be part of the solution. For them to say, 'We think you are part of the solution,' I was very happy for that. It makes handling the situation a lot easier. Not saying it is easy, but overall it makes it easier.»
This statement was kind of criticized because just a few days after on the Chris Rose Show, Bassitt stated that there are unfixable issues within the organization. But he came out today saying his comments were taken out of context.
The problems he sees as unfixable are situational rather than structural, he explained, while the lack of an off-season pivot was a product of market options, not a lack of front-office ambition.
«I think too many people will see that and be like, 'Oh, (shoot), he's talking about a massive problem. Things are going really, really bad and they can't solve them.' That's not what I'm saying,» he said. «I'm saying there are variables in the game that you literally cannot change.»
An example of those problems that can't be fixed, for instance, «I'm going to be 36 next year. You can't change me to 26. You can't change age. You can't change things like that.»
«I think we do an unbelievable job here,» Bassitt said.
«I don't think anyone in the league takes care of families better than the Blue Jays. From a front-office standpoint with the players, we have unbelievable discussions all the time. From the coaching standpoint, they love to listen to us. I think they do an unbelievable job. But there are variables that are issues. The reality is you can't fix them. (Kevin Gausman) is going to be 34. (Jose) Berrios has a ton of innings on his arm. I would love to have Berrios having 200 career innings and me and Gausy being 24. But that's just not the reality.
«I would love to have Bo (Bichette) not have two calf injuries this year. That stinks. I would love to have (Jordan) Romano not coming off the surgery. All those different things. There are things that we just can't fix. They're what we are handed. It's just a frustrating time because so many people here expected to be a World Series contender, to be a great team. And it just didn't play out that way. That's it.»
«I think too many people will see that and be like, 'Oh, (shoot), he's talking about a massive problem. Things are going really, really bad and they can't solve them.' That's not what I'm saying,» he said. «I'm saying there are variables in the game that you literally cannot change.»
An example of those problems that can't be fixed, for instance, «I'm going to be 36 next year. You can't change me to 26. You can't change age. You can't change things like that.»
«I think we do an unbelievable job here,» Bassitt said.
«I don't think anyone in the league takes care of families better than the Blue Jays. From a front-office standpoint with the players, we have unbelievable discussions all the time. From the coaching standpoint, they love to listen to us. I think they do an unbelievable job. But there are variables that are issues. The reality is you can't fix them. (Kevin Gausman) is going to be 34. (Jose) Berrios has a ton of innings on his arm. I would love to have Berrios having 200 career innings and me and Gausy being 24. But that's just not the reality.
«I would love to have Bo (Bichette) not have two calf injuries this year. That stinks. I would love to have (Jordan) Romano not coming off the surgery. All those different things. There are things that we just can't fix. They're what we are handed. It's just a frustrating time because so many people here expected to be a World Series contender, to be a great team. And it just didn't play out that way. That's it.»
Fans have taken to social media to voice their concern but many are still asking if he is just back peddling how he really feels to save face or he actually means it.
I could be wrong regarding Bassitt walking back his comments, but you can't tell me there isn't something amiss between him, Bo and Matt Chapman all having things to say recently. Where there's smoke, there's usually fire, and there seems to be an awful lot of smoke. #BlueJays
What do you think?
Source: City News Everywhere
Chris Bassitt clarifies comments, sees Blue Jays' problems as situational, not structural
Chris Bassitt clarifies comments, sees Blue Jays' problems as situational, not structural
| POLL | ||
AOUT 21 | 219 ANSWERS Chris Bassitt defends his controversial comments: ‘It's a situational issue, not a structural one' Were you taken back by Chris Bassitt's comments? | ||
| Yes | 51 | 23.3 % |
| No | 168 | 76.7 % |
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