3 moves the Blue Jays need to make after Jake Bloss' injury

Heading into the 2025 MLB season, one of the main concerns for the Toronto Blue Jays was their lack of MLB-ready starting pitching depth in the minors.

But even with that lack of depth, it seemed like a given that Blue Jays fans would see Jake Bloss make his team debut at some point in 2025. Bloss was the key return in the Blue Jays Jays trade with the Astros last year that sent Yusei Kikuchi to Houston.

That all changed last week when the promising prospect when down with a season-ending elbow injury, which has created a huge hole in the Blue Jays' pitching depth.

Now the Blue Jays will need to figure out how they can fill that void to ensure that they have enough pitching options to get through the marathon of a 162-game season.

With that in mind, here are three moves the Blue Jays need to make in the wake of Bloss' injury.

3 moves the Blue Jays need to make after Jake Bloss' injury

Get Yariel Rodríguez and Eric Lauer ready for a potential starting role

The Jays currently have two swingman on their MLB roster who could potentially serve as a starter in Yariel Rodríguez and Eric Lauer.

With No. 4 starter Bowden Francis struggling after his sensational 2024 campaign and the essentially having a void where their No. 5 spot is, Toronto should seriously consider stretching out either (or both) of them for that spot in the rotation Both pitchers have primarily served as relievers this season.

It looked like the Blue Jays signed José Ureña to serve as the team's No. 5 starter, but he had a one inning appearance on Thursday out of the bullpen, so it seems like his time in the rotation has come and gone.

Rodríguez showed some promise last season as a starter when he posted a 4.47 ERA and 1.32 WHIP along with 85 strikeouts in 86 2/3 innings. But he's only pitched out of the bullpen this year, so Toronto would need to give him a couple of weeks to build himself up to a starter's workload if they wanted to insert him into the rotation.

He has a 4.05 ERA in 20 innings out of the bullpen this year.

Lauer was starting in Triple-A prior to joining the big league club, and seems the more likely option to work a full-time starter. He's compiled a tidy 2.00 ERA with nine strikeouts in nine innings of long-relief work with the Blue Jays this year. It wouldn't take much for the Blue Jays to stretch him out to a full-time starter.

Promote some promising minor league pitching options to the higher levels of the minors

THe Jays still have some promising pitching prospects that have been doing well this season — whether they're ready for prime time is a different story.

The bulk of those options are found in some of the lower levels of the minor since Ricky Tiedemann (the Jays' top pitching prospect) is still recovering from Tommy John surgery and is out for the foreseeable future. Lazaro Estrada (the Jays No. 25 prospect per MLB Pipeline) has struggled in Triple-A this year to the tune of a 5.97 ERA in 28 2/3 innings. He's given up a whopping 38 hits in that time frame.

But in Double-A, starting pitcher Michael Domínguez has dominated with a sparkling 0.56 ERA with 23 strikeouts in just 16 innings of work across six games (four starts), while Ryan Watson has a 1.85 ERA across five starts.

Additionally, both Rafael Sanchez (3.68 ERA) and CJ Van Eyk (4.42 ERA) have been solid in Double-A as well. It's time for the Blue Jays to promote a few of them to Triple-A Buffalo to see how they can handle MLB-ready hitters.

Fast-track Spencer Turnbull to get him in game shape

Jays added Turnbull earlier this week via free agency, and it seems like the No. 5 in the rotation is his whenever he can get healthy.

A former budding ace with the Detroit Tigers, Turnbull's had to deal with plenty of injuries across his six-year career.

Turnbull showed glimpses of his dominant past during his brief tenure with the Philadelphia Phillies last season when he went 3-0 with a 2.65 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 54 1/3 innings in 17 outings as both a starter a bullpen option.

He looked best as a starter, as he posted a stellar 1.78 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings. The Blue Jays front office would be doing backflips if he could replicate that performance with the team this year.

Turnbull made his first appearance for the Jays’ organization on Thursday with Single-A Dunedin where he allowed one run on three hits in four innings. He walked two and had four strikeouts.

The Blue Jays have had to manage injuries to Max Scherzer and Bloss, but they've gotten next to nothing from either of them so far this season. While Turnbull is still a bit of a lottery ticket, he's still a solid option who could help add some depth to a rotation that's suddenly looking thinner than it did at the start of the season.