Blue Jays’ latest signing creates golden back-end rotation opening for the Padres

The Toronto Blue Jays have been a bit of a thorn in the San Diego Padres' side early in the 2025-26 offseason.

First, the reigning AL pennant winners snatched up former Padres ace Dylan Cease on a blockbuster contract, handing the right-hander $210 million over seven years.

Then, they grabbed Padres free-agent target Cody Ponce on a three-year deal, removing one of the best under-the-radar rotation options on the market.

However, all that wheeling-and-dealing may force them to expose one of their better veterans to free agency, as their rotation is now full with Cease and Ponce joining Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, and Shane Bieber.

Chris Bassitt may not be a household name, but for the budget-conscious Friars, he could be a perfect low-risk, high-reward starter to plug in behind Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove.

Chris Bassitt likely to leave Blue Jays, could be perfect Padres free-agent target

The Blue Jays also have José Berrios in tow, which could make both of their free-agent starters (Bassitt and Max Scherzer) expendable.

Though Scherzer may not be of much interest to teams at 41 years old, Bassitt will garner some attention. He moved to the bullpen during the Jays' postseason run, but still authored a 1.04 ERA in 8 2/3 innings in October.

The 36-year-old is also one of the most dependable starters in the game, having made at least 30 starts in every season since 2022. He's also completed at least 155 innings in each of the past five campaigns.

That kind of reliability (and good health) is extremely valuable, especially for a team like the Padres. Unless Joe Musgrove magically returns to his pre-injury form, Nick Pivetta is about the only member of the rotation Craig Stammen can feel reasonably confident about heading into 2026.

Over the past three seasons in Toronto, Bassitt compiled a 3.89 ERA and 4.13 FIP in 541 1/3 frames. His stuff isn't elite by any means, but he's an excellent contact-manager who lived in the 85th percentile in exit velocity allowed last year, as well as the 80th percentile in hard-hit rate.

Most projections peg Bassitt for a reasonable short-term deal, with the average sitting roughly in the two-year, $25 million range. Even for the cash-strapped Padres, that's a wildly affordable deal for a pitcher who can soak up a lot of quality innings.

Though he can't replace Cease's frontline production, Chris Bassitt would be a nice consolation for the Padres to sign, especially if the team is worried about its ability to make a blockbuster trade for another premier starting pitcher.