Blue Jays Insider has no direct affiliation to the Toronto Blue Jays or the Major League Baseball (MLB)
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Bowden Francis at risk of losing his job this season
Photo credit: City News Toronto
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Yariel Rodriguez might be stealing Bowden Francis' spot in the starting rotation as the two pitchers will be competing at Spring Training.
After the Blue Jays signed pitcher Max Scherzer, many believed that Rodriguez would be heading to the bullpen for the 2025 season but Ross Atkins recently stated that he will be entering Spring Training as a starting pitcher.
The elevated numbers and the decreased output innings-wise are why many people project Rodriguez to move to the bullpen in 2025, although he mostly stayed on an innings/pitch limit last year after not pitching competitively in 2023 while waiting to become MLB eligible. - Georges
Blue Jays pitcher Yariel Rodriguez is looking to push Bowden Francis back into the bullpen
Spring Training is set to kick off for the Blue Jays and it looks like Rodriguez and Francis will be competing for the fifth starting rotation spot as the other 4 spot are filled out.
Many believe that Francis should be kept in the starting rotation with how he pitched in the second half of the season but it looks like his spot is not a lock as he will be competing with Rodriguez for the fifth spot.
Given how great of a story Francis was in the second half of last year, many will be clamoring for him to remain in the rotation. However, fans shouldn't sleep on the possibility that it could be Rodriguez who rounds out the rotation come opening day. -Georges
In last year's second half, Bowden Francis went on one of the more spectacular runs of any Blue Jays pitcher in recent memory. -Georges
When comparing numbers from last season, it seems clear that Francis should get the starting rotation spot but many believe that Francis will regress at least a bit this season which is where Rodriguez has room to fight for that spot.
The expected regression at least opens the door for Francis to be beaten out of a rotation spot this spring. -Georges
It will be interesting to see who ends up landing the final starting rotation spot for Opening Day.
| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 11 | 3788 ANSWERS Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Bowden Francis at risk of losing his job this season Will Yariel Rodriguez beat out Bowden Francis for the final spot? | ||
| Yes | 877 | 23.2 % |
| No | 2911 | 76.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
TRENDING NOW
