Blue Jays have internal pitching options if Rule 5 Draft lacks another Spencer Miles

The Toronto Blue Jays struck gold with Spencer Miles last winter, which naturally makes the Rule 5 Draft feel a little more interesting this time around.

After all, teams are always looking for inexpensive pitching, and Miles developed into a success story, the kind every front office is after. Toronto selected him from the San Francisco Giants, found a way to keep him on the active roster, and watched him turn into one of the most important arms on an injury-ravaged staff.

But that kind of outcome is pretty rare. Especially considering Miles' history. He had less than 15 professional innings pitched since he was drafted by the Giants in 2022.

As tempting as it might be for the Blue Jays to go hunting for the next Miles in this year’s Rule 5 Draft, their situation is a little bit different now. They'll always look to add pitching, but they also have more internal candidates pushing toward major-league opportunities. It's likely there will be more 40-man roster spots already be claimed by the time the draft rolls around.

The Blue Jays already have plenty of arms who need opportunities

The organization had quite a few success stories in the minor leagues in 2026 which has created a fascinating group of internal pitchers who should factor into the 2027 picture.

The projected rotation could include Dylan Cease, José Soriano and Trey Yesavage, with Cody Ponce and Bowden Francis also in the mix if healthy. Francis never made it out of spring training, while Ponce’s Blue Jays tenure got off to a rough start. He was hurt in his first appearance with the club and never returned.

Then come the swing pieces. Ricky Tiedemann made his major-league debut in relief this season. His long-term role remains to be seen and it's likely he'll enter camp with an eye on a spot in the rotation.

Jake Bloss is in a similar spot after another injury-interrupted year, and the hope is that 2027 finally gives him a cleaner runway. Brandon Barriera, meanwhile, does not have major-league experience yet, but he finally got healthy enough to log 38.2 innings, his highest total since Toronto drafted him in the first round in 2022.

José Berríos also factors in, but he is not expected to be ready for Opening Day after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Beyond that group, Nolan Perry, Gage Stanifer and Daniel Guerra have all done enough to put themselves in the 40-man conversation. If the Blue Jays protect them from the Rule 5 Draft, they should deserve a shot at logging big-league innings next season.

The bullpen picture is crowded, too. Louis Varland, Tyler Rogers, Miles, Mason Fluharty and Braydon Fisher are likely locks. Brendon Little has earned trust from manger John Schneider. Grant Rogers, Josh Winckowski and Lazaro Estrada should all be part of the conversation for relief jobs and José Rodriguez, who just debuted as shown some promise.

That does not mean the Blue Jays should ignore the Rule 5 Draft entirely. They should still scout it aggressively, especially after Miles proved how valuable one smart bet can become. But the bar should be higher this winter.

As David Cho recently outlined at Jays Journal, there will certainly be Rule 5 options for the Blue Jays to consider this winter. But Miles’ breakout still belongs in a different category. By the end of the season, he was the only player selected in the 2025 Rule 5 Draft who remained on the active roster of the team that drafted him, which only reinforces how rare his contributions are.

Aside from the internal options there's bound to be some free-agent relief added to the team as well. The Blue Jays could shop in the deep end and go after someone like Adrián Morejón, David Bednar, Raisel Iglesias and Andrés Muñoz. There are also plenty of second tier guys looking for places to pitch.

However, the Blue Jays should absolutely keep searching for undervalued pitching. That is how good organizations create depth, and Miles is proof that scouting conviction can uncover something most of the league missed.

Even if the organization believes in one of Tiedemann, Bloss, Barriera, Perry, Stanifer or Guerra, 2026 has proven that in any given year a team can basically be patching holes every single week. At least with Miles, they had a solution already in place.

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