CHICAGO -- Last week in Toronto, John Schneider walked into the Blue Jays’ facility and found Chris Bassitt sitting at pitching coach Pete Walker’s desk, scheming.
Bassitt, the veteran with a mind for pitching that never stops, was charting out the dozens of ways his next two weeks could work around the All-Star break. For most starters, the break is an oasis in the desert: that rare opportunity to inhale, exhale and reset. Bassitt doesn’t sound interested in that.
Bassitt threw six innings of one-run ball in Toronto’s 10th consecutive win Tuesday, needing just 78 pitches before the rains came. That incredible streak finally came to an end with Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the White Sox at Rate Field, falling one short of tying the franchise record, but the past two weeks have peeled the layers back to expose the best of the Blue Jays. When Bassitt was asked about the upcoming break, he hinted that he might not be done yet.
“There’s a lot of conversations, I’ll leave it at that,” Bassitt said. “Obviously, I’m not going to start over any of the guys who are starting, but I can be available and should be available.”
Surprise, surprise. Bassitt has thrown 106 innings this season, 15th in the AL. This isn’t what you hear from starters in July, especially 36-year-old starters.
“If the bullpen is completely worn out, I’m there. Whatever the team needs,” Bassitt said. “Being at a lower pitch count, there’s ideas and everything else about how to get out of the All-Star break. I just feel really good right now, so if the bullpen needs another day off, I’ll be available, we could piggyback a day, things like that. I’m not thinking about the All-Star break, I’ll say that.”
Schneider broke into a smile the moment it was brought up Wednesday morning. Besides, managing cerebral pitchers like Bassitt and Max Scherzer can be an interesting endeavor. He called it a “definite possibility”, though, as the Blue Jays try to find the sweet spot in this “delicate balance” of entering and exiting the break the right way.
Sunday’s finale against the A’s on the eve of the All-Star break is José Berríos’ start day, so perhaps that lines up for Bassitt to throw an inning or two in a game setting instead of throwing a side session in the bullpen.
“We’re entertaining that with him, pitching over the weekend in Sacramento in some capacity,” Schneider said. “I know that yesterday probably played into it a bit with the low pitch count over six innings, but we’ll see. You don’t want guys going too long without getting off the mound.”
If there’s any pitcher on this roster who Schneider would trust with this and be open to the idea, it’s Bassitt.
“I’ve said it before, but Chris does weird well,” Schneider said. “Getting a game in relief wouldn’t be the worst thing for him.”
In a perfect world, the Blue Jays won’t need to worry about this, but Max Scherzer’s start Friday in the series opener should set the stage.
Scherzer has been battling that lingering thumb issue and it’s not going away. Last time out, he was limited to 72 pitches over four innings. If something similar happens against the A’s, perhaps the Blue Jays’ bullpen begins to snowball and Bassitt’s proposition would be welcomed by the end of the weekend, but there’s a long way to go between now and then.
Bassitt’s schedule is a consideration, trying to keep him in the right rhythm, coming out of the break at home against the Giants and Yankees -- but for him, this is all about one thing.
“To win a World Series. Honestly, that’s my only goal I have, to win a World Series,” Bassitt said. “If our main arms in the bullpen are hanging or our main arms in the bullpen are used the next three or four days, if they’re tired and need an extra day, we don’t need to throw them. Whatever Schneids, whatever Pete and whatever the organization needs.”
All of the Blue Jays’ talk of a better clubhouse and team culture is showing itself in these small ways, though. Wednesday’s loss in Chicago was a letdown after that dominant 10-game streak, but an eagerness to put the team over the self will help the Blue Jays to keep this rolling out of the All-Star break.