Blue Jays' concerns have eased as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Dylan Cease avoid major injuries

The Toronto Blue Jays lost 4-1 to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday afternoon (May 24), snapping a four-game winning streak, but it could have been a lot worse after two of their biggest stars left the game early with apparent injuries. Both first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and starting pitcher Dylan Cease had to exit the game in the fifth inning.

Cease was the first to go. After getting the first two outs in the top half, he was seen shaking out his legs after a couple of pitches. The training staff came out to check on him twice and after the second visit, they decided he should probably end his day earlier than he had expected.

In the bottom half of the inning, Guerrero got hit by a pitch on the inside of his right arm and walked right off the field and directly into the teams' clubhouse. Fearing the worst, Guerrero immediately underwent an X-ray examination and the results came back negative.

After the game, Guerrero told reporters, "When that happened, I thought it was worse than this, but thank God nothing major. Guerrero said he felt his arm go numb and he had no feeling in his middle and pinky fingers. "Just a little bit painful but thank God everything is fine," he added. Meantime, manager John Schneider said that the team will see how he feels tomorrow but for now, it's all good news, all things considered.

As for Cease, he underwent an MRI and that procedure confirmed that it was only cramping and nothing else. According to Sportsnet reporter Shi Davidi, the 30-year-old right-handed told Schneider that he planned to make his next start, while Schneider told reporters “all the testing and stuff seemed pretty positive,”

Blue Jays finally get good news on the injury front

That's probably the best news the Blue Jays have heard all season when it comes to injuries. The 2026 campaign has so far been defined by the amount of time players have spent NOT playing for the Blue Jays than those that have. But to lose two players of the calibre of Cease and Guerrero would have really put a dent into their quest for a playoff berth this season.

Cease has been pitching like an ace-caliber arm for most of the season. Through 11 starts (including Sunday's game) Cease has a 3.05 ERA with a 1.21 WHIP and 92 strikeouts in 62 innings pitched. He leads the league in strikeouts and his 4.2 innings pitched against the Pirates was the first time since Apr. 3 in which he didn't make it through at least five innings pitched.

Guerrero on the other hand looked like he was starting to come around after a really bad stretch. He was slashing .333/.419/.458 with a 147 wRC+ over his last seven games with four walks and one strikeout. With players like Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger still missing, and Kazuma Okamoto scuffling, the Blue Jays could really ill-afford to lose another one of their key offensive cogs at this time.

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