Angry birds? After 2024 disaster, veteran Blue Jays starters are fuelled for redemption
DUNEDIN, Fla. — They are two guys who took the Blue Jays money — willingly — and hitched themselves to a team each believed was headed to big things.
And now, both Chris Bassitt and Kevin Gausman are motivated to be key players in the Toronto redemption tour as they inch towards a season with so much on the line.
Both starting pitchers — who collectively signed contracts worth more than $170 million US — are also realists, recognizing that the disaster that unfolded last season was real, but not necessarily debilitating. That said, the frustrating debacle of 2024 certainly left a mark.
The two cornerstones of the Jays rotation might have been a little — let’s go polite — “ticked” with how things went down last season, after living through the trade deadline selloff and the miserable August and September that followed.
And, as competitors who came to Canada for big-money contracts in the prime of their careers with the desire to win, well, that frustration is to be expected.
“Yeah, I was mad,” Bassitt said candidly in an interview with the Toronto Sun at his locker in the Jays’ player development complex. “Yeah, I was very frustrated. But I think every veteran in the room was very frustrated. I think a lot of that blame is probably on us.
“I was mad at myself. I was mad at every veteran in this room. I was mad at every coach. I was mad at everybody because I was like: ‘How did we get here?’ I came here to compete for a World Series, and we’re settling for this? That’s not why I came here. So, yeah, I would say every single person was mad.”
Some context: When we spoke, Bassitt wasn’t mad in the moment, rather clearly articulating how he has resolutely moved on from the futile season behind him while confident of better things ahead. But in a wide-ranging conversation about what went wrong in 2024 and what needs to go right in ’25, Bassitt’s passion is apparent. As a guy looked upon as a team leader, you probably wouldn’t want it any other way.
And, yes, he didn’t sign his three-year, $63-million deal to be on a team that is an also-ran.
I’m sure there were coaches mad at me,” Bassitt admits, taking ownership of his own performance, which he acknowledged didn’t live up to his standards. “I know there were front-office people mad at me, like I’m mad at them. Everyone was mad, but I think we’re all mad for the exact same reason. It was just that we expect to win a World Series, or at least compete for one, and we weren’t even close to that.”
Yes, it was a mad world as the Jays limped home to that 74-88 record that cemented them in the cellar of the American League East. And the 7-17 September to punctuate it was as excruciating for the players as it was for the team’s fans.
“It was just like we were playing in the big leagues and we’re kind of holding tryouts, so to speak,” Bassitt said. “It wasn’t great. And then going back to myself, not competing and trying to work on things — a lot of them I shouldn’t have been working on in the first place … it was difficult.
“And that was all self-inflicted. It was trying stuff out.
“So for the first time in a long time for me, (the mindset) was: ‘Let’s get them next year.’ For two or three months to play, it was not a good feeling for any of the veterans here. It was not fun.”
While Gausman was equally frustrated in the moment last summer, he too has moved on. Already the current version of spring training is looking better for the veteran right-hander, whose exhibition season a year ago was limited to one appearance in the final week.
While he appreciates the dire talk and acknowledges the need for significant improvement, Gausman suggests perspective. That said, there is fuel in the aftermath of 2024.
“I would say that for a team that two out of the last three years made the post-season, there’s a lot of negative talk about what this team could be,” Gausman said. “I think guys can hear some of the criticisms. There’s definitely some guys ready to push some people around.”
As miserable as the meltdown was last summer, Gausman is firm in his belief that a dramatic uptick in form is not required for the Jays to become a post-season perspective. The task: Return to what so many in the lineup have done well.
