How Francis could fit into Blue Jays' 2025 rotation plan

TORONTO — Every area of the roster will have to be touched this winter, including the rotation.

But Bowden Francis is trying to give the Toronto Blue Jays something to think about when the off-season starts.

His near no-no performance on Saturday continued an unreal run for the 28-year-old, who recently earned American League Player of the Week honours and is now on a dazzling four-start run that’s seen him post a 1.33 ERA and punch out 34 across his last 27 innings.

“He's very present and he's very meticulous with his thoughts and his routine," manager John Schneider said after disappointingly having to lift the tatted up and laid back right-hander on Saturday evening in the ninth inning. "He was great when I went out there (to the mound). He looked me right in the eyes. I said, 'Hey, just stay present right now and as part of this day enjoy what you're about to hear from the crowd.' And hopefully, he did that.”

The ovation was deserved, not just for Saturday’s performance, but the overall development over the course of this season. 

Francis is in a real groove right now and determining where he fits in the 2025 rotation plan is suddenly becoming an important evaluation over the next five weeks.

As currently constructed, at the top of next year’s group are three veteran locks: Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios and Chris Bassitt.

The next tier is made up of Francis and fellow right-hander Yariel Rodriguez, two arms the Jays have slowly built up this season and are now reaping some of the rewards.

Past that?

Not a whole lot that can be counted on, which makes Francis’ emergence all the more important.

If the plan is to contend, GM Ross Atkins will have to find at least one quality starting pitcher, leaving Francis, Rodriguez, prospect Jake Bloss and maybe a depth signing or two to battle it out for the No. 5 spot in the rotation next spring.

On Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels, a team he had dominated just 12 days prior out on the West Coast, Francis was in complete control, striking out a career-high 12 and carrying his no-hit bid into the ninth before Taylor Ward crushed souls with a solo homer.

Over his last four starts, Francis has allowed just eight hits and walked four, with three of those free passes coming Saturday.

After being hesitant to let him go past the 80-pitch threshold earlier this year as they protected him from going a third time through the order, Francis threw a career-high 117 pitches as he chased the club’s first no-hitter since Dave Stieb 34 years ago.

On the year, Francis’ ERA is now down to 4.02, with his expected ERA looking even better at a 3.78 xERA.

While it’s impossible to expect this level of consistency, Francis is proving his future could lie in the rotation, something that wasn’t obvious as recently as a couple of months ago.

That present and meticulous personality his manager mentioned is one of the reasons Francis feels his future is as a starter.

“I really want to be whatever the team needs,” Francis said recently. “I know I’ll start one day, like fully. It’s just timing.

“I’m not a super high-strung guy. I feel like relievers have that switch that’s like boom and they go. I have it in me, I’m just more loosey goosey and free flowing and I like the routine of having my four days in between where I can do my stuff and then have my day, versus always being locked in when game time hits.”

Right now, Francis is as locked in as it gets and he should get half a dozen more starts to prove his worth heading into the winter.