Thriving Richards stepping up to fill rotation gap

TORONTO -- The Blue Jays’ rotation is on thin ice, but they seem to keep stepping in all the right places.

The cracks started to show when Alek Manoah was sent to the club’s complex in Dunedin, Fla., to rebuild himself. Immediately, the Blue Jays were left looking at a jarring lack of MLB-ready rotation depth, so they turned to reliever Trevor Richards. It’s worked better than anyone could have expected, but the long-term answer still likely involves some external help, with the Trade Deadline just over a month away.

Richards nailed the assignment again in a 6-1 win over the Giants on Wednesday night at Rogers Centre, giving the Blue Jays three scoreless innings before handing the ball off to Bowden Francis and friends. Richards opened with 10 whiffs in the first inning alone, joining the talented trio of the Reds' Hunter Greene, the Rangers' Andrew Heaney and the Nationals' MacKenzie Gore as the only pitchers in the Majors to reach that number in a single frame this season.

“Trev’s been really, really good,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “You can’t even say enough about what he’s done for us, in that role tonight or coming out of the bullpen.”

Since Richards broke in as a starter with the Marlins in 2018-19, this isn’t exactly new ground for him, but he’s essentially showing up at 1 Blue Jays Way each afternoon not knowing what his role will be that evening. In Manoah’s spot in the rotation, he’s been the opener. Perhaps “short starter” is closer to the truth, but for the four games in between, Richards has also been ready for bullpen appearances.

• Blue Jays honor Gausman family

What Richards has given the Blue Jays is extremely valuable. Much like Ross Stripling did on a grander scale a year ago, he’s saved Toronto from dipping into a pool of rotation depth that’s barely a puddle.

The short term
The Blue Jays felt this was their best approach when Manoah was sent down, said general manager Ross Atkins, but throwing a bullpen game every fifth day can’t last forever.

“That would not be ideal,” Atkins said. “I think we can get through another turn or two feeling OK, with the off-days, with the performance we’ve had -- and the performance we’ll see today will be telling towards that. But that’s not the goal.”

Toronto has one more off-day prior to the All-Star break, which comes next Monday. By the time the Blue Jays start the second half, they’ll need to have a much clearer vision for the following three months. That means a better feel for how far off Manoah is and a better idea of Hyun Jin Ryu’s remaining timeline as he works back from Tommy John surgery.

To Richards’ credit, he’s said and done all of the right things to put the team first, even with the temptation of starting again right in front of him.

“I think anybody would keep that open,” Richards said. “But honestly, I’m not too picky. I want to throw as much as I can. Whether that’s coming out of the bullpen or starting, whatever the team needs at the time, count me in.”

The long term
In a perfect world, Manoah and Ryu would come back and give the Blue Jays options. In reality, neither of those timelines can be carved in stone, and Toronto is one injury away from an even scarier depth situation.

Francis will have a shot to be part of this solution, regardless of how many innings he’s throwing at a time. He threw four innings on Wednesday and picked up his first MLB win, showing the composure that’s quickly earning him some trust and fans within that clubhouse.

“We’ve talked to him a few times about being available in a shorter, traditional bullpen role,” Schneider said. “Or also, taking the ball to start and saying, ‘Hey, you’ve got 75 pitches, here you go.’"

This situation is headed in one clear direction, though: the Trade Deadline.

“Looking at our team right now, the obvious area would be adding a starting pitcher. We need to balance that with the progress of Alek Manoah and Hyun Jin Ryu,” Atkins said prior to Wednesday's game. “In addition to that, we’ll think about how we can improve in absolutely any area."

This will be a crowded market for buyers, given how many clubs could realistically compete for a Wild Card spot in each league with a quick hot streak. Pitching is always at a premium, but that price tag could be even steeper this season.

That shouldn’t matter for a club with a shot to make a run, and regardless of whether Richards is pitching the first, fourth or seventh when the time comes, he’s part of the solution.