Bassitt trying to 'stay on the attack' as he seeks '25 bounceback

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Two years in, we’ve seen a great version of Chris Bassitt and a good one.

The difference has been subtle -- an inch here, a pitch there -- but it’s been noticeable. If you offered the Blue Jays a repeat of Bassitt’s 2024 stat line today, they’d probably sign up for it, but what they’re really after is a repeat of his first season in Toronto.

2023: 200 IP, 3.60 ERA (2.5 WAR)
2024: 171 IP, 4.16 ERA (2.2 WAR)

The most important number, both to Bassitt and the Blue Jays, is innings. This is a throwback, but so is Bassitt. When he touched that 200-inning milestone in his final start of the 2023 season, he called it his “only goal forever” and the benchmark for elite pitchers.

There’s nothing complicated about that subtle gap between 2023 and ’24 for John Schneider.

“Pitch efficiency,” Schneider said. “We always talk about the number of pitches that he has and I think it’s about honing in on three or four of them instead of five or six of them. That, and locating, being efficient. Last year, he fell into a lot of deep counts with foul balls and balls, things like that. He can stay on the attack and that’s what we’re looking for.”

That’s unusual for Bassitt, who tends to live in attack mode. Let them put the ball in play and trust your defenders, especially with one of the best defenses in baseball.

Schneider’s on point, though. Last year, Bassitt needed 17.3 pitches per inning, the fourth-most among 58 qualified pitchers in MLB. The year prior, that number was down at 15.7 per inning, right in the middle of the pack. That extra pitch or two each frame adds up when you’re not attacking.

“I got away from that,” Bassitt said. “I was trying to figure out lefties and do too much stuff in the second half of last year. We were tinkering with things and it was a weird part of the year for all of us. It was about figuring stuff out and a lot of it just didn’t work. I think me and [pitching coach] Pete [Walker] have a really good plan right now. There’s still tinkering, but it’s a lot more structured rather than throwing stuff at the wall and hoping it sticks.”

Schneider echoed Bassitt on that “weird” part of the season for Bassitt.

“He’s a veteran guy. You hit the Trade Deadline and we’re obviously a much different team than we were to start [the season],” Schneider said. “I’m not saying that he wasn’t prepared or ready to pitch, but you can hit a bit of a coast button at times if you’re at that point in your career. He was working on different things. He moved a bit on the rubber to the third-base side and that was a bit of an adjustment for him. He just wasn’t as consistent. He had really good outings, then some where his pitch count got up in the fifth inning.”

This feels like a problem Bassitt can address quickly. In the next breath, Schneider says that Bassitt can “adjust with the best of them” and that having Max Scherzer back in Bassitt’s ear can only be a good thing, with their strong relationship going back to their days with the Mets. Get either talking about pitching and you might be there all night.

This isn’t about aggression and attacking blindly, though. When Bassitt is at his best, he’s in full control of the at-bat, using that early attack to get hitters out on their toes.

We saw this in the very first at-bat Friday between Bassitt and Trey Sweeney. After Bassitt landed a 92 mph sinker for strike one, he dropped in a 70.7-mph curveball that tumbled towards home in slow motion. Sweeney, already down 0-1, took a big, early hack and missed it. That’s the model for Bassitt, who struck out four in 2 2/3 scoreless innings in Toronto's 10-7 win over the Tigers at TD Ballpark Friday afternoon, an immediate 0-2 count he can have some fun with.

Beyond this, though, Bassitt isn’t giving any hints. Sure, Schneider and the Blue Jays might want him to tighten up his endless repertoire of pitches, but the 36-year-old veteran just cracks a smile when he’s asked about any chances to his mix. He doesn’t want anyone knowing what’s coming.

“We’ll see.”