Battle for No. 5 spot in Blue Jays’ rotation no closer to being settled

DUNEDIN, Fla. – The wide open battle for the fifth spot in the Toronto Blue Jays’ pitching rotation is no closer to being settled after the first five Grapefruit League games, and will likely come down to the wire. It’s very early – too early to make any real decisions – but the perceived incumbents, especially, haven’t done much to help their causes.

Esmil Rogers, who made 20 starts in 2013, and Todd Redmond (14 starts) both took the hill in Sunday’s 8-2 spring loss to the New York Yankees and did little to solidify their spots in the rotation. Rogers pitched two innings, surrendering one run on three hits and one strikeout. Redmond took the loss after giving up three runs on three hits – including back-to-back home runs in the third inning – and walking two batters.

It was the second appearance of the spring for both pitchers who are in a battle for one last job with the likes of Drew Hutchison, Kyle Drabek, Marcus Stroman and Ricky Romero.

Redmond was coming off earning a win after pitching two shutout innings against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. As is often case in spring games, Redmond tried some things and got into trouble before settling down in his second inning of work.

"[I] just left a couple pitches up. Got underneath my slider. Just left a fastball over the plate trying to go away,” Redmond said about his first inning of work, which included home runs to Eduardo Nunez and Carlos Beltran. “The second inning, the fourth, I got more on top of it. I was able to finish my pitches and the result [was] a lot better.

“When I started spring training I felt good, that was the first time this spring so far that I've really got underneath a whole lot of pitches. Besides that, I made the adjustment after that first inning and was able to come back out and perform where I needed to be.”

Rogers, meanwhile, saw his spring earned-run average climb to 9.00. He has pitched just three innings but has surrendered three runs on four hits.

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said the problem in Sunday’s loss was something that can plague a team at any time.

“Overall we didn’t throw enough strikes,” Gibbons said. “We were falling behind and I don’t care where you’re at [in the season] that’s going to cause trouble.”

In extremely limited innings, the pitcher with the seeming leg up so far is Hutchison. He pitched two shutout innings on Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles, striking out four and giving up just one hit. Hutchison started 11 games for the Blue Jays in 2012 before missing all of 2013 after having Tommy John ligament-replacement surgery.

The front end of the Blue Jays rotation seems set in stone, barring any major injuries. R.A. Dickey returns for his second season in Toronto and has been named the opening-day starter. Mark Buerhle should be the No. 2 starter followed by Brandon Morrow who made just 10 starts in 2013 due to injuries. J.A. Happ appears to have a firm grip on the No. 4 spot with the fifth spot up for grabs. Interestingly, the No. 5 starter will likely start the Blue Jays’ home opener against the Yankees in front of a sellout crowd following a season-opening four-game series in Tampa.