Blue Jays Add Two Veteran Starting Pitchers To ALCS Roster

The Toronto Blue Jays adjusted their pitching staff for their American League Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners.

Toronto released its ALCS roster on Sunday morning ahead of Game 1 at the Rogers Centre. The AL East champions added two notable hurlers back into the fold.

Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt rejoin the team after getting omitted from Toronto’s American League Division Series roster. They’ll replace relief pitchers Tommy Nance and Justin Bruihl, who each allowed two runs in Game 2’s 13-7 win over the New York Yankees.

Scherzer hasn’t pitched since allowing 10 hits and four runs against the Boston Red Sox on Sept. 24. The 41-year-old toiled down the stretch, relinquishing 37 hits and 25 runs over his final six appearances spanning 25 innings.

The Blue Jays made the difficult decision to exclude the three-time Cy Young Award winner, who carried the Washington Nationals to a World Series title in 2019 with a 2.40 ERA in 30 postseason innings. Although the future Hall of Famer won another ring with the Texas Rangers in 2023, he allowed 17 baserunners and seven runs in 9 2/3 innings.

Meanwhile, Bassitt returns to the Blue Jays after ending the regular season on the injured list with back inflammation. The 36-year-old notched a 3.96 ERA in 170 1/3 innings, recovering from a rough patch to record a 3.23 ERA in his final nine starts.

Kevin Gausman will start Sunday night’s Game 1 for Toronto, and rookie Trey Yesavage should draw another start after a dominant outing against the Yankees. After Shane Bieber, Bassitt or Scherzer could start or follow an opener in Game 4 if not used as a bulk reliever sooner.

As expected, the Blue Jays kept injured shortstop Bo Bichette off their ALCS roster. The series starts Sunday at 8:03 p.m. ET on Fox.