Blue Jays' Rasmus benched: 'I’m just going to be sitting around watching these rookies play'

The Colby Rasmus era in Toronto appears all but over.

Rasmus will be regulated to the bench for the rest of the season in favor of the Blue Jays' young talent, he told John Lott of the National Post. 

"I'll be playing whenever they think I should play and I’m just going to be sitting around watching these rookies play," he said prior to Wednesday's tilt in Tampa Bay.

The 28-year-old center fielder is an impending free agent and his struggles this season nearly guarantee the Blue Jays will not extend him a qualifying offer expected to be in the range of $14 million next year.

Rasmus, hitting .225 with a career low .287 on-base percentage, said manager John Gibbons delivered the news Tuesday.

From Lott:

He said Gibbons made it clear his reduced playing time was a front-office decision.

"I'm not down about it. No hard feelings," he insisted, not very convincingly.

"I'm just going to come in and pull for these boys and hope they do good," he said, nodding to a room packed with new arrivals from the minor leagues.

His ability to hit for power at a premium position has provided the inconsistent Rasmus with plenty of rope during his career, but his struggles this season have left the Blue Jays willing to gamble on other options.

Anthony Gose and Kevin Pillar could potentially form a platoon next season in center, so it stands to reason they will inherit the majority of at-bats in Rasmus' absence. Recent call-up Dalton Pompey, and new acquisition John Mayberry Jr., can also man all three outfield positions and are expected to receive reps down the stretch as well.

Perhaps most concerning for Rasmus has been his ineffectiveness against right-handers this season. Long known for his struggles versus southpaws, the left-handed hitting slugger is hitting just .236/.285/.464 against righties, while his 32 percent overall strikeout rate is the highest of his career.