Shane Bieber is expected to make his debut with the Toronto Blue Jays very soon as his workload in triple-A increases, but once he does what does John Schneider has a big decision to make regarding the starting rotation.
John Schneider has a big decision to make regarding Blue Jays 6 man rotation
It's been quite the impressive season for the Blue Jays, having a healthy lead in the AL East race over the Boston Red Sox, and recently adding firepower on the mound with Bieber
However, Kenneth Teape of Toronto Blue Jays SI reports that its not all smooth sailing for the club especially for Schneider. He'll have to make some decisions once Bieber makes his return from Tommy John surgery which is expected to be quite soon.
"However, there lies the issue for Schneider. With Bieber's 30-day rehab window coming to a close later this week, a decision has to be made with the Big League rotation, which is currently full and without a clear-cut candidate to be replaced."-Teape
While the more apparent decision to cut someone out of the starting rotation, there is an alternative route the Jays can go to a six man rotation but it comes with its own concerns.
"There is a chance that he goes with a six-man rotation out of the gate with all of the starters performing well, but that isn't a sustainable long-term plan because his bullpen would be left short-handed. Also, starting pitchers are creatures of habit; putting them on a schedule that provides six or seven days of rest could throw them out of rhythm." -Teape
" As Mitch Bannon of The Athletic (subscription required) shared, Kevin Gausman, Eric Lauer and Jose Berrios have each made one start off seven days' rest in the last four years, and none of them recorded a quality start."-Teape
While this remains a difficult decision, these are good problems to have, no one ever complained about having too many good starting pitchers. The only question remains if Schneider does decide to go with only five who gets left out?