4 Blue Jays pitchers who should worry about their spot now that Max Scherzer is back

When the Toronto Blue Jays welcomed three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer back on a one-year deal worth $3 million plus incentives, it was definitely great news for the fans and the organization. However, it has put everyone else in the Blue Jays’ starting rotation on notice. There was already a potential logjam heading into the 2026 MLB season and it just became even more crowded. 

Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease and a healthy Shane Bieber would all be permanent locks in the starting five for Toronto. That would leave all of the remaining candidates, including Scherzer, to battle it out for the remaining two spots over the course of the season. Here is who should worry the most about losing a rotation spot to Mad Max.

4 Blue Jays pitchers who should worry about their spot now that Max Scherzer is back

Eric Lauer

The very first one that comes to mind is Eric Lauer. He showed that he was more than capable in handling starting duties last season when he filled in nicely for Scherzer while he was on the IL. But when the 41-year-old veteran eventually made it back to the team following his rehab, Lauer was relegated to bullpen duties for much of the remainder of the year.

Now with a supposedly healthy Scherzer returning for another year, Lauer could fall into the same deployment once again for the 2026 season. Especially after the fact that Lauer showed he could be an elite bullpen arm by putting up a 3-0 record with a 1.76 ERA, 0.75 WHIP in 13 appearances as a reliever. However, because the 30-year-old left-hander did express he would like to start, it also makes him now a potential trade candidate.

José Berríos

How much difference can a year make? For José Berríos, he has gone from being the Blue Jays’ Opening Day starter in 2025, to now fighting for a spot for the back end of the rotation this spring. That was because Berríos endured some struggles down the stretch last year that ultimately had him moved to the bullpen towards the end of last season.

In doing so, some slight friction was created between the 31-year-old pitcher and the Blue Jays, but both parties have aimed to put those behind them entering 2026. In the end, he still finished with a respectable 9-5 record, 4.17 ERA and 1.30 WHIP overall over 31 games in 2025.

Nevertheless, Berríos will now need to show that he could rediscover his previous form to maintain a spot in the rotation. Otherwise, he also becomes a potential trade candidate to help relieve some of the logjam.

Cody Ponce 

It sure sounds a bit outrageous for the Blue Jays to invest over $30 million to bring in Cody Ponce from overseas, only to use him in a relief role, right? Well, that is certainly a bigger possibility now that Scherzer is back in the picture. Ponce put up big numbers in the KBO last season by compiling an impressive 17-1 record with a 1.89 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, along with 252 strikeouts in 180.2 innings pitched. And his spring debut with the Blue Jays sure gave some confidence as he pitched a scoreless inning with two strikeouts against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday.

However, Ponce still needs to show that he wasn’t a one-hit wonder and could translate that success back to the MLB over the course of the regular season this year. Otherwise, the wily veteran Scherzer will be right there to grab his spot.

Trey Yesavage 

Finally, even rookie Trey Yesavage could see his playing time in jeopardy heading into the 2026 season. First of all, the Blue Jays will give Yesavage all the opportunity to grow and develop his game this coming year with the hopes that he can become the front-line starter that many expect of him. After all, he gave Blue Jays fans and the baseball world a glimpse of what he could do last season during the MLB Playoffs.

But with having only pitched 139 total innings last season as his career high, Toronto will be closely regulating his workload this spring and likely throughout 2026. As a result, by having Scherzer back, the Blue Jays could limit Yesavage’s deployment in the rotation over the course of the year. In fact, Toronto could follow a similar plan to what they once did with Aaron Sánchez back in 2015 and use him effectively as a shutdown reliever to finish off the season.