2 realistic options for Blue Jays' 2027 rotation, if they aren't traded first

One thing that has become painfully obvious about the Toronto Blue Jays this season is that they can never, truly never, have enough starting pitching. They began the year with more than a handful of candidates that could potentially help out the rotation. But due to injuries and ineffectiveness that number has dwindled significantly.

While they got Shane Bieber back earlier this week, his first outing wasn't great, and it's put a clear spotlight on what the Blue Jays' biggest needs will be at the deadline. Sure, the offence needs a jolt as well, but they have two guys in the lineup already in George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. who could add a significant boost to that offence with a little bit of progression towards their career norms.

General Manager Ross Atkins said as much during a media availability earlier this week. He told reporters that the goals for the Aug. 3 trade deadline will be to find some upgrades to the rotation. He says, "It’s probably starting pitching. But it’s not as easy as just deciding to do that, because we have five starters that we’re confident in. But you can just never have enough.”

Those five starters include the afforementioned Bieber, along with Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage and Patrick Corbin. And when everything is going right, this is a group that should be strong enough to keep the Blue Jays in playoff contention. But the goal isn't just to contend for the playoffs this year, it's to go on another deep run, and that's where we get the need for finding an upgrade.

Unlike the offense though, that upgrade probably won't come internally, even though the Blue Jays have some very intriguing arms on their minor league rosters that are making strides toward helping this current crop of Blue Jays: Jake Bloss and Ricky Tiedemann. However, as the season continues it's more and more evident that these two will more likely be competing for Blue Jays' rotation spots in 2027...unless they get moved at the deadline.

Blue Jays pitching prospects are going to be targets for other teams at deadline

Atkins touched on the progress that both Bloss and Tiedemann have been making in their respective rehabs this year. He said about Bloss, "He's still in that roughly 13 month phase.. not a time to push, it's a time to ensure that he's taking the next safe step...because there’s two factors there, one would be his health and recovery, and the second one would be his development.”

Bloss has pitched to a 3.80 ERA and 4.74 FIP in 23.2 innings over seven starts at various levels of the minor leagues. He's worked his way back up to Triple-A Buffalo. The interesting piece to note about Atkins' comments are that Bloss already has major league experience. While he was with the Houston Astros he pitched in three games at the MLB level. He didn't have great results in his 11.2 innings pitched, but it's not like he is a rookie looking to get his first taste of the big leagues.

Meantime, Atkins also noted that Tiedemann will need a few “effective” weeks as well and very recently, Tiedmann missed his start with Single-A Dunedin due to neck soreness. It's another setback for Tiedemann who missed most of 2024 and all of 2025 due to Tommy John surgery. He has also been hampered by arm troubles in 2026 and only began making single-inning appearances in the Complex League this month.

As they continue to build up their arm strength there is a real chance that if they stay healthy they will be competing for a roster spot in 2027 with the big league club. Gausman, Bieber, Corbin and Max Scherzer are all set to hit the free agent market at the end of the year and at this point the Blue Jays only have Cease and Yesavage penciled in for starting spots right now. Sure, there's Cody Ponce, Bowden Francis and José Berrios still under contract, but also dealing with their own injuries.

The other caveat stopping these guys from being Blue Jays in 2027 is the 2026 trade deadline. As Atkins has made it clear they are looking to upgrade pitching, the cost for that is usually young pitching prospects going the other way. In 2025, the Blue Jays traded away three pitching prospects in various deals. That included Juaron Watts-Brown (to Baltimore), Kendry Rojas (to Minnesota) and Khal Stephen (to Cleveland).

A pair of rehabbing minor leaguers are probably less likely to be the main attraction for teams at the deadline, but they could certainly be a part of a package. With the Blue Jays being linked to everyone from Tarik Skubal to Freddy Peralta to Sandy Alcantara, it wouldn't be shocking to hear that Bloss and Tiedemann were at least discussed as part of the Blue Jays' trade talks.

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