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Source: Baseball-Reference.com

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Marcum was traded the following off-season, Romero’s career fell apart, Dickey was a microcosm of the failed expectations of the 2013-14 seasons and Hutchison lost his starting job even as the team romped to the playoffs last year.

We jest about the second thoughts thing: of course Stroman is the opening day guy, just like it is obvious he enters this season, at 24 years old, as the staff ace. A 1.67 ERA in four September starts despite missing the first five months of the season with a knee injury will do that for you.

After Stroman, though, things become decidedly less clear. There are a few questions to be answered about the lineup this spring, such as who will bat leadoff, who will play left field, and who will back up Russell Martin, but this all amounts to tinkering relative to the uncertainty with the pitching staff. There are plenty of arms, to be sure, but the biggest task for manager John Gibbons this spring will be figuring out who does what.

Hutchison happens to provide an excellent cautionary tale. An improved slider keyed a strong finish to 2014, and he began last season by shutting down the Yankees in New York. And then he regressed mightily. He was still recording wins thanks to Toronto’s potent offence, but by late summer he had the ignominy of the best winning percentage (85%) for a pitcher with an ERA over 5.00 in baseball history. He was sent to Triple-A Buffalo and was left off the playoff roster.