Manager John Schneider talked with reporters today about the club’s upcoming rotation plan. Mitch Bannon of track and field and Hazel Mae and Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet conveyed some details. Schneider says Shane Bieber,,,,, José Berríos and Kevin Gausman Three games will be kicking off with lefty this weekend in Miami Eric Lauer Available from the bullpen.
Although Raul will be on the pen this weekend, Schneider stressed that this will be a temporary move. “This is not moving to a bullpen,” the captain said. “It’s a growing thing as we grow.” He continued, “It’s going to be a smooth situation. For that series, he will get it from the pen. It certainly won’t let him get out of the argument that comes.”
Jays’ Gausman has been spinning steadily over the past few months Chris Bassitt,,,,, Max Shezer and Raul. This provides the club with a pretty solid team in the regular season, but they decided to chase the playoff rotation by grabbing former Cy Young champion Bieber from the Guardians before the deadline.
At the time of the deal, Bieber was still recovering from Tommy John’s surgery last year. This gives Jays some time to decide what they will handle the sudden spin surplus. For now, Raul obviously missed a start, but may still be reinstated with a spinning character. They reportedly considered a rotation of six people, but would not do so now.
The schedule may come into play. Jays will also be on the way tomorrow and next Thursday, meaning they only played six times over the next eight days. After that, they played six more games before another off-day on September 4, and then three games before another off-day on September 8. Together, it’s 15 games in 19 days. Making a six-player spin will mean that each person only throws once a week, sometimes even less. This may give the appetizer an extra rest, but maybe it can also be extra rusted.
Time will tell how Jays handles things in the long run. According to Schneider’s comment, it probably depends on health, usage and other factors in the coming weeks. Jays had 13 games in mid-September and had no leave from September 9 to 21, so in that window, a six-man rotation might become more feasible.
The good problem encountered is a well-known good problem, as there are many other clubs who want to have to make such tough calls. As Lauer himself said, in Keegan Matheson at MLB.com, “It’s going to be fun. I’m glad I’m not the one who makes the decision.”
It was a little unfortunate for Lauer, as he was arguably the best of this summer. He signed a minor league contract during the offseason and it turns out he was a huge help to Jayce this year. Thanks Scherzer for missing some time, Bowden Francis Raul was all struggling and hurting, able to take over the rotation and run with it. He gave Jays 88 innings overall that year, with an average running rate of 24.5% and a walking rate of 7%.
Despite the great results, Jayce may choose the reason he dials back things. Last year, he was trapped among minors and threw it badly. He was released by several different clubs, with only 75 1/3 innings, plus 34 2/3 in South Korea, a total of 110 innings. In 2023, the injury restricted him to 91 1/3 innings between the Grand Slam and the minors.
This year, he recorded 24 innings in Triple-A before making a call. When combined with his 88 major league innings, he is 112 years old this year. This is consistent with his workload last year and before last year. If he stays and continues to log in to the rotation, he can see his effectiveness drop.
Apart from the workload, Jays is not completely sure that his results are completely sustainable. As mentioned earlier, he was not special among minors last year. He rebounded sharply in 2025, but the ball hit an average of 0.260 and the shareholding rate was 84.3%. His 3.54 FIP and 3.88 Siera are still good, but suggesting a regression is a clear possibility. Since Raul averages less than 92 miles an hour on the fastball, it’s fair to wonder how long he can go.
As mentioned earlier, the situation is very smooth and may change quickly. A harm obviously will rush to change things. Scherzer has been battling thumb problems for years and has missed much of the first half of 2025, despite his very sharp mind lately. He has played at least five innings in all of the last seven games, with the exception of one, at least six frames. At that time, he had an ERA of 3.14, strikeout rate of 23.5%, and a walking rate of 5.3%. Gossman, Bassett and Berios are very stable, but pitching injuries often occur these days. It was a bit tough for him to ramble Raul into the bullpen, but the club’s safety net was a good one as the club headed into the last month of the regular season.
As for the roster plot, Jayce announced after today’s game Braydon Fisher Has been selected as Triple-A Buffalo. This opens an active spot for Bieber’s roster to restore its status on Friday.
Similar to Lauer, it was a tough development for Fisher because he has been performing well. In this year’s Jays’ 38 1/3 innings, he has an ERA of 3.05, strikeout rate of 31.2% and a walking rate of 7.8%. However, his best result was earlier this season. By July 1, he had an ERA of 1.90, strikeout rate of 37.1% and a walking rate of 5.6%. Since then, it’s a 4.91 ERA with a strikeout rate of 23.5% and a walking rate of 10.5%.
These bulk talk to the deep pitchers Jays has built up since several weapons on the deadline. The roster expanded from 26 to 28 from September, and the pitcher limit rose from 13 to 14. Unless someone else is on the injured list, the pitcher’s optional task is a minimum of 15 days.
Bieber also needs a 40 person Friend Kennedy Designated as assigned as corresponding actions Andrés Giménez Activate from 10 days IL.
Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, image
