TORONTO -- The ending was unfulfilling for Michael Wacha on Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre, but not nearly enough to erase what a strong throwback season the veteran righty gave the Red Sox.

In a 6-3 loss to the Blue Jays, Wacha allowed five runs on six hits. Unfortunately, that was par for the course for Boston vs. Toronto this season; the Red Sox lost 16 of their 19 encounters with the Jays in 2022.

Though Wacha struggled in his final two starts of the season, he was easily Boston’s best starting pitcher this year. In 23 starts, he went 11-2 with a 3.32 ERA, a 1.12 WHIP and a .233 opponents batting average.

“Overall, a great season, and he’s an outstanding kid,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “He obviously got hurt, but I think he gave us everything we asked him to and he was amazing. It was cool to see him compete, and he’s a really, really good kid.”

The Sox went 16-7 in Wacha’s starts and were 59-76 in the rest of their games. Boston has three games left at home against the Rays.

Even though Wacha had two stints on the injured list, missing roughly 10 starts, he proved to be well worth the $7 million he earned in his one-year contract.

Wacha has also earned a raise. Will the Red Sox make him a qualifying offer, which is expected to be worth roughly $19 million? If Wacha accepted, he would pitch for the Red Sox on another one-year deal. If he declined, the Sox would get Draft-pick compensation should he sign elsewhere.

The 31-year-old said he hasn’t thought about whether he might get a qualifying offer, but he confirmed that Boston would be a destination he’d strongly consider returning to.

“Like I’ve said before, I love the guys here, love the staff here,” said Wacha. “I love pitching at Fenway. There’s no better place to pitch, I feel like. It feels like it would be a cool place to pitch again next year, but time will tell.”

Wacha will be more equipped to unpack his 2022 season in the coming days. On Sunday, he was trying to wash away the frustration of his final two starts.

“Very frustrating with this one today and last week as well,” Wacha said. “It’s hard to think about the whole season with this one still fresh on my mind.”

But he offered a few thoughts about it.

“I felt good whenever I was out there all year and felt like I took some strides,” Wacha said. “I guess there will be a little bit more evaluating here in the next couple of weeks.

“It was just a frustrating season as a team. I feel like we had the team in here to do it and make a postseason run, but it just felt like the ball didn’t bounce our way at times. Some really tough close games that didn’t go our way, and we’re in that position we’re in now. But yeah, it’s just a frustrating feeling right now.”

As far as Boston’s projected starting rotation for 2023, the oft-injured lefty Chris Sale and veteran righty Nick Pivetta are under contract.

Prospects Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford both got chances this season due to a rash of injuries, and both could get a chance to win a starting job in Spring Training. Garrett Whitlock, who had season-ending right hip surgery recently, will likely get a chance to start after being used primarily as a reliever in his first two seasons. Nathan Eovaldi and Rich Hill join Wacha as free agents.

It’s hard to say at this point who will be back, but it’s easy to imagine Wacha being a good fit again in 2023.

“We would like to see everybody back,” Cora said with a smile. “We know that’s impossible, but [Wacha] is good. He made some adjustments last year toward the end of September, and [they] carried over to this year. He can pitch. That’s the most important thing. He has the ability to get ground balls with men on, with a man at first, and weak contact. That’s pitchability, and not too many guys have that.”