High expectations for revamped Jays rotation heading into 2022

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What a difference a year makes.

A year ago at this time, the Toronto Blue Jays’ rotation was a mess.

It was Hyun Jin Ryu, a pair of reclamation projects with fairly low expectations in Robbie Ray and Steven Matz, and a collection of prospects and depth arms.

It was the clear Achilles heel for a team that looked like it could be an offensive juggernaut (it was).

But things changed quickly last summer, and that has continued over the winter.

Ray and Matz proved the front office right in so many ways, Alek Manoah arrived in May, registered a 3.22 ERA as a rookie and never looked back, while the José Berríos blockbuster added a proven top-of-the-rotation arm.

That foursome was stellar down the stretch, and the rotation was the reason the Jays surged over the final two months and came within one game of a post-season spot.

Fast forward to today and the names have changed since the final day of the 2021 season, but the impact that this rotation is expected to have has not.

Berríos, Manoah and Ryu return, but general manager Ross Atkins just finished spending $146 million this winter to replace Ray and Matz.

After giving longtime Jays front office favourite Kevin Gausman $110 million back in November, the Jays found a Matz replacement on Saturday, inking former Seattle Mariners left-hander Yusei Kikuchi to a three-year, $36-million contract.

Like Gausman, who the Jays pursued on a couple of occasions, the Japanese-born Kikuchi was a pitcher Atkins had inquired about before he inked a three-year, $43-million deal with the Mariners prior to the 2019 season.

Over those three campaigns on the West Coast, Kikuchi finished with an underwhelming 4.97 ERA, while also struggling with the gopher ball at times, as he