Toronto Blue Jays have interesting decision to make with No. 5 starter

With J.A. Happ and Francisco Liriano expected to join the Toronto Blue Jays rotation this week, the team now has an interesting decision to make with who should be their No. 5 starter.

The Toronto Blue Jays lineup is nearly healthy again, with Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki returning to the lineup last Friday against the Texas Rangers. Now it looks like the starting rotation is returning to full strength, too, with J.A. Happ and Francisco Liriano both expected to join the team this week.

Happ is confirmed to start on Tuesday against the Cincinnati Reds, while Liriano is expected to rejoin the team sometime near the end of the week, possibly as early as Friday. With both pitchers back in the fold, the Blue Jays five-man rotation, which was considered by many during the spring to be one of the best in baseball, will finally be close to full strength.

The only pitcher missing from the Jays’ rotation now is Aaron Sanchez, who remains out with a blister issue and will not come back until his finger is fully healed. With all the uncertainty surrounding Sanchez, the Blue Jays No. 5 starter has become an intriguing question mark.

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Mike Bolsinger and Joe Biagini have filled in as interim starters while the Blue Jays dealt with their slew of injuries, but with cavalry arriving, you figure only one of these two pitchers will remain in the starting rotation. The question is which one.

The easy answer here is Biagini, who has pitched well during his five starts and just went more than five innings for the first time on Sunday against the Rangers. The dilemma with Biagini, though, is the former Rule 5 pick was lights out in a setup role last season and the Jays’ bullpen could certainly use an impact arm — other than Joe Smith and Roberto Osuna — with Jason Grilli and J.P. Howell struggling.

If the Blue Jays do decide to go this route it would mean Bolsinger is the de facto No. 5 starter. However, considering how average Bolsinger has been during his starts this season, and the mental errors he had on Friday when he forgot to cover third base and botched a routine PFP (pitcher’s fielding practice) because he was late off the mound, it’s easy to see why he’ll likely be the odd man out unless the Jays are inclined to move Biagini back to the bullpen.

Since the Blue Jays aren’t expecting Sanchez back anytime soon, the team could keep Biagini in the rotation until Sanchez is ready to return, and just use Bolsinger as a spot starter. Using Biagini this way would be similar to how the St. Louis Cardinals used Carlos Martinez during the 2014 season when he bounced back and forth between the rotation and bullpen. Looking at how Martinez has turned out, it’s clear this kind of usage can work over the long-term. Of course, Martinez was a highly touted prospect and uber talent in comparison to Biagini, but the point here is this kind of developmental path can work when transitioning a pitcher into the rotation.

The caveat to this entire “who should be the No. 5 starter” question, however, is can Happ and Liriano stay healthy? Happ has ran into trouble this year throwing too many pitches in too few innings, and elbow inflammation is an injury that can carry prolonged health risks. Meanwhile, Liriano is dealing with a shoulder strain and the 33-year-old has had his fair share of injuries in the past.

I would expect both pitchers to be on a limited workload as they work back into the rotation, which could mean the Jays use a six-man rotation in the short-term, but once Happ and Liriano are back up to speed, the Blue Jays will have a decision to make with Biagini and Bolsinger.

Next: Where will the Blue Jays stand come mid-season?

Roster quandaries like who should be the No. 5 starter aren’t a bad thing, and I’m sure it’s a problem Jays fans will gladly deal with as opposed to the overwhelming amount of injury issues the team has dealt with this season.

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