Toronto Blue Jays southpaw Yusei Kikuchi is scheduled to start Monday’s spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates with right-hander Chris Bassitt slated to follow, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reports.
Bassitt logged 200 innings for the Blue Jays in 2023, posting a 3.60 ERA and tying for the AL lead in wins with 16. Kikuchi posted a strong 2023, as well, finishing his bounce-back campaign with a 3.86 ERA and 181 strikeouts in 167.2 innings.
Some Blue Jays bullpen regulars will get their first looks of spring on Monday against the Pirates. Schneider said that Jordan Romano, Chad Green, Genesis Cabrera and Tim Mayza are scheduled to pitch in the game.
Schneider also laid out the team’s plans for the following two games. He said that Alek Manoah will start against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday and Jose Berrios will get the ball Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Manoah will look to get his 2024 season off on the right foot after pitching just 87.1 major-league innings in 2023, resulting in multiple demotions.
Berrios, combined with Bassitt, Kikuchi and Kevin Gausman, helped the Blue Jays feature one of the best rotations in baseball last season with a 3.65 ERA in 189.2 innings of work.
Toronto is 0-2 to start its spring training schedule after dropping games to the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees.
You can catch all of Monday’s action from Dunedin on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+, starting at 1 p.m. ET and 10 a.m. PT.
