The Blue Jays know what they’re getting with Chris Bassitt. Opposing hitters might not

DUNEDIN, Fla.—“Four-seam, two-seam, cutter, two sliders, two changeups and a curveball.”

Chris Bassitt has just rattled off his repertoire of pitches, all the bristling arrows in his quiver. He didn’t include the entirety of variations in speed and arm slot, which actually brings the tally to 10. Or more. Ex-Blue Jays pitcher Taijuan Walker pegs the arsenal at 20. Which is preposterous. But not necessarily inconceivable.

Fellow Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman went 10-high when recently extolling the virtues of his shape-shifting colleague and the cascading impact for the starting rotation. “I’ve been on plenty of staffs where guys have pretty similar stuff and it’s just like teams could figure out a plan of attack. In a four-game series, you don’t know what you’re going to get from us,” Gausman says. “Having a guy like Bassitt, whoever’s up the day after is going to have a lot of fun because he throws 10 different pitches.”

The distinct contrasts in weaponry has pitching coach Pete Walker salivating.

“We do have different looks and (Bassitt) definitely sets us apart because he does have different angles and a vast array of pitches. He can vary his pitches, he can change speed and he can change arm slots. So it creates different angles and different looks. He’s got good stuff obviously, he’s got good life on his fastball, he can spit the ball very well. But he can adjust speeds and adjust to the hitter. He’s one guy in particularly that can make pitch to pitch adjustments very easily.

“He complements the other guys very well, from one day to the next.”

Bassitt addresses the diversity benefits thusly: “The fact that we all bring something different to the table is great. It’s not a cookie-cutter plan they can bring for us. Like, power righty, power righty. We don’t have that. You’ll get something different every night.”

In the aftermath of Toronto’s farcical expulsion from post-season labours last October — we won’t revisit the horrific details here — GM Ross Atkins said upgrading the rotation was a top priority. Of course, the Jays have gone in a fistful of directions since, although the common denominator is heightened defence and preventing runs.

Bassitt was the first acquisition to that end — actually, the only starter brought into the fold — signed as a free agent in December to a three-year, $63-million (U.S.) deal. His stuff isn’t going to blow past anybody but it will keep hitters guessing, with a split second to react. Across his eight years in the majors, the long lean righty has regularly flummoxed batters. “He knows how to pitch,” says Walker. “He’s not going to overpower you but he’s sneaky good. Can throw any pitch in any count, which is a rarity. And he loves to talk pitching, which has been great for out guys.”

Walker calls Bassitt “a pitching junkie,” mainlining the substance. In fact, even before Bassitt was officially at camp, he was hanging around eyeballing early pitching drills and observing throws on the sides, just to get early intel on his brethren and to begin sliding into the Borg organism that is the Toronto pitcher collective.

“Learning all the new guys, watching a lot of bullpens, what they like to do, how they like to attack guys,” he said. “And the catcher’s view, where they like to set up. Once I got that locked in, on to the next step in the building process.”

Upon his initial trip to the mound, Bassitt provided a wide angle-glimpse of what he’s got, while sussing out pitch sequencing and sizing up — “weeding out” —those he’s inclined to discard, though nothing is mothballed. He was generally satisfied with his spring training debut, albeit annoyed that he had thrown too hard for first time out. “I’ve been through this often enough where I know how long the season is. If I’m absolutely full bore right now, I don’t know how good I’m gonna be come October.” He characterized the dichotomy as a Catch-22 of being a thrower and a pitcher. “I hate spring but I like it. You always want to get guys out but, at the same time, you have to truly understand that you’re trying to get ready for the season.”

An all-star with Oakland two years ago when he went 12-4 with a tidy 3.15 ERA, Bassitt has impressed new teammates with his immersion into the group, as well as his commitment to improving. Through the first days of camp, he repeatedly reminded fellow Jays about the essence of a normal spring training. “A lot of people kind of forget what spring training has meant for so long, because the last two or three years have not been normal spring trainings.”

In Bassitt, the Jays have secured a solid presumptive No. 3 starter — if José Berríos is relegated to No. 4, with the final spot still undetermined, less than a week out from opening day. He is a proven mid-rotation arm who induces ground ball outs and who completed seven innings in 20 starts over the last two years. So, sturdy. And an empirical enhancement from the departed Ross Stripling, who did nevertheless did contribute 10 wins to the Jays’ record in 2022 with yeoman service.

And in the Jays, Bassitt is likewise confident he made the right call in his first kick at free agency eligibility, pre-sold on the team and the city in conversations with former teammates and former Jays such as Marcus Semien and Matt Chapman, with whom he is delighted to be reunited since shared years of perdition in Oakland. When the Jays came courting, Bassitt told them he didn’t need to be lured by the virtues of the franchise; he had done his homework, all boxes checked, including a reasonable drive for family and friends from Ohio.

“They have an unbelievable roster. The starting pitching is incredible and obviously they have a very good lineup. What’s not to get excited about?”

Bassitt came to Toronto after a single season with the New York Mets. Prior to that, there was a short spin with the White Sox, the team that drafted him out of the University of Akron, then the longer term with the Athletics, interrupted by Tommy John surgery. In Queens, he established career highs with 30 starts, 15 wins, 181 2/3 innings and 167 strikeouts. The Mets led their division for most of the season before being caught by Atlanta and eliminated from the post-season by San Diego, with a whimper in the deciding wild-card series Game 3.

And now, as a clubhouse interloper notes, blue nail polish on his toes.

Not a testament to the Jays. Merely the artwork of his three-year-old daughter Landry.

“I’m past the stage in my career for personal goals,” Bassitt told his hometown paper. “I’ve been an all-star, I’ve pitched good throwing for a lot of years. I’m hoping to win a World Series. That’s the only goal.”

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