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TORONTO – The armchair critics say the Blue Jays’ starting rotation needs a lift. What say you, Ross Atkins?

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“Absolutely, I believe the rotation is enough to contend,” said the team’s new general manager.

Over to you, Mark Shapiro.

“You will never hear me not answer that question the same way, which is, a rotation always needs another boost,” said the team’s new president, who had just introduced the new general manager.

On closer inspection, their answers were not dissimilar. But as they expanded on their replies, it seemed apparent that their priority is building rotation depth at Triple-A Buffalo. At the moment, they have no one there to step up in case a big-league starter gets hurt or fails to measure up.

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“Pitching is a very fragile area of team construction, and depth is absolutely essential because you will encounter things that you don’t expect, either in variation in performance or in health,” Shapiro said.