Blue Jays could be getting some much needed reinforcements just in time

The Toronto Blue Jays’ rotation is starting to show cracks. It practically feels like the group is being held together by a couple of veterans in Kevin Gausman and Dylan Cease, while a struggling Max Scherzer and Eric Lauer round it out. With injuries and inconsistency piling up, Toronto has already been forced to use a bullpen game, turning to an opener following Cease's start, that's yet to be announced.

This rotation, which was once deep featuring arms like Cody Ponce, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage, and José Berrios, now looks significantly thin. The good news for Toronto, however, is that those reinforcements may not be far off.

Let's start with Yesavage, who made another rehab start in Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday afternoon as he inches closer to his first start of 2026. His recent outing was far from perfect, as he allowed two home runs. The first home run came off the bat of Dylan Crews on a 94 mph fastball, while the second came on an 86 mph slider, as Yesavage showed some inconsistency with his command throughout the outing.

Yesavage pitches an encouraging outing and could be on the verge of a call up

He finished the day after 4.1 innings, allowing seven hits and three earned runs while striking out five and walking one. Yesavage threw 71 pitches, 42 for strikes, and was responsible for two runners on base when he exited. Despite the rough stat line, the focus remains on progression, not the result. His splitter showed encouraging signs, but his fastball velocity was a notch down, sitting between 93–95 mph. He was also able to induce 12 whiffs during the outing, which is an encouraging sign.

Now for Berríos, he will make a rehab start with Single-A Dunedin on Thursday, aiming for three innings and 50 pitches. His progression is a bit behind Yesavage’s, but he is making steady progress. To simply see him pitch in a real game is encouraging, and he should be on track to return to the team in the coming weeks if all goes well.

The 31-year-old is rehabbing a stress fracture in his right elbow, which was diagnosed in March, just months after dealing with right elbow inflammation, which sidelined him for the remainder of the 2025 season.

Bieber is another name to keep an eye on, although his path back to the big club still appears to be further away. He was recently moved to the 60-day IL, a paper move that allowed the team to open up a spot on the 40-man roster, which they used for newly acquired Lenyn Sosa. Working through inflammation in his right elbow, it's been confirmed that Bieber has been throwing off a mound, but he has not begun a rehab assignment.

The reinforcements may finally be on the way for Toronto. Yesavage appears to be close, while Berrios isn’t too far behind. If everything goes smoothly, which hasn’t always been the case in the early stages of the 2026 season, both could return within a couple of weeks. Their returns would add much-needed depth to the rotation while significantly easing a bullpen that has been heavily relied upon.

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