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TORONTO — Even after spending $189.7 million on the roster this winter, there are still obvious question marks in the Toronto Blue Jays’ rotation.

At this point, with pitchers and catchers scheduled to be on the field in Dunedin in two weeks, it’s Hyun-Jin Ryu and then everybody else.

There’s not much certainty behind the veteran lefty, and even then, the soon-to-be 34-year-old’s injury history is a lengthy one that can’t be completely forgotten.

While there could still be opportunities to improve via trade if GM Ross Atkins wants to get splashy, ante up and part with top prospects — Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray and Kyle Hendricks are all believed to be available, but for a hefty price — the best bet is that one of James Paxton, Jake Odorizzi or Taijuan Walker lands in the Jays’ rotation by the end of the month.

But that’s no certainty with a number of teams in the mix on each one of those names.

Speaking on a Zoom call Thursday, Atkins said his club is not done trying to improve, but there’s no sense of urgency after a winter of work that has without a doubt improved an already-emerging team.

All that means is they’ll let the pitching market come to them.

"If we were to paint a picture of our off-season, we feel good about the pieces of the portrait that we’ve been able to complete, but at the same time, there’s areas of that picture that we recognize still need work," Atkins said. "It’s never a finished product and it never will be, but we feel we made huge progress this off-season.

"It’s good to be in a position where we feel like the team we currently have, we feel good about," he added. "And we feel good about it being a contending team, but we’ll continue to try to improve it. It’s hard to say how many more major-league deals will be there, but there certainly could be the potential for them."

According to Roster Resource’s calculations, the Jays currently have $137 million in estimated payroll committed for 2021 and team president Mark Shapiro’s recent comment that the "bulk of our heavy lifting is done" suggests there’s not much left in the budget.

But that hasn’t stopped the Jays from sniffing around those mid-rotation arms, bullpen pieces, and maybe a utility infielder, signalling there’s definitely money left to spend.

And an obvious rotation hole — or maybe two, honestly — to fill.

After adding Steven Matz last week, it’s an odd collection of reclamation projects, bounce-back candidates and prospects vying for rotation spots this spring.

Behind Ryu, there’s lefties Robbie Ray and Matz, followed by veteran right-handers Tanner Roark and Ross Stripling.

All four pitchers did not fare well in 2020, and while there are reasons to believe in all four bouncing back to previous levels, odds are that isn’t the case for all of them in the end.

Nate Pearson will also be in that mix, as will two pitchers who spent their 2020 debuts in the bullpen for the most part in Thomas Hatch and Julian Merryweather.

Anthony Kay and Trent Thornton will also get opportunities.

That’s nine names behind Ryu and still not much certainty or anything resembling a No. 2 starter, especially with Pearson’s impact likely limited in some way after throwing just 20 total frames last year, in addition to a scary flexor tendon injury.

Looking around the AL East, however, there isn’t much certainty anywhere.

In New York, the Yankees boast a horse in Gerrit Cole, but then they’re relying on a bounce back from Corey Kluber, a talented-but-oft-injured Jameson Taillon, Jordan Montgomery and Domingo German, who was suspended last season for violating the league’s domestic violence policy.

It’s even less certain in Tampa, where the Rays lost two of their best three starters this winter, trading Blake Snell to cut costs and letting Charlie Morton walk in free agency.

The Rays, as always, will get creative and likely find a way to piece together quality innings, which leads to an intriguing strategy the Jays could attempt in the first half of a season that’s expected to be a war of attrition on the pitching side.

With the club’s usage in 2020 pointing to more creative uses of the pitching staff as a whole, there could be an opportunity to piggyback the entire back end of the rotation and juggle matchups.

Send Pearson out to start for three innings, and then follow him up with a lefty like Ray or Matz. A day later, it could be Merryweather’s 97-plus cheese for three frames, followed by Stripling’s curveball look or Roark.

It’s not sexy and might be frustrating for fans at the start, but getting outs and, ultimately, winning games is the goal.

The Jays have certainty toyed with every idea, but Atkins said a traditional starting five is the way they want to go.

That will play out during spring training in what could be a heated competition between veterans trying to regain past form and kids trying to win permanent jobs.

Competition never hurts and depth will be so, so key in 2021.

"We’ll have to be open to considering different ways just to put guys in position to one, get outs, and two, stay healthy," Atkins said. "The shape of that, it’s hard to say. I think we’ll have a much better idea about two weeks prior to the season starting on what that outcome is, but we’re thinking about all the different ways to do. The best outcome is five to seven of those guys are in positions to give us five to eight innings on a regular basis. That will be the starting point, and that’s the ideal. But if we’re not getting five- and six- and seven-inning starts from guys in an effective way, then we’ll have to adjust."

No matter what the Jays do over the next few weeks to add to that rotation mix, they will without a doubt be a team attached to just about every top-of-the-rotation starter on the trade market in June and July, assuming the schedule starts on time and that’s when swapping season heats up.

Blue Jays fans don’t need to look far for that blueprint, which is why what Atkins’ rotation looks like in February may not matter with the prospects they can turn into impact down the road in the not-so-distant future.

Getting buried in the standings early on would be the only way the Jays wouldn’t be able to go out and do what the previous regime did in 2015, adding an impact arm — and a healthy one at the time, which is key in this scenario — like David Price, transforming a good rotation into a postseason-worthy one.

But that’s for down the road.

As of today, the Jays will sit back and could strike again in free agency before pitchers and catchers are expected to be on the field in Dunedin on Feb. 18.

"We’re ready to go," Atkins said. "We have a number of players already in Florida, and the remaining group already has plans to arrive here shortly. We’re prepared to start spring training on time and excited to start the season on time. Right now the plan is for them to come to spring training. We’ll take that a day at a time and every day is huge for us."