Blue Jays’ injury woes could deepen as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Dylan Cease exit game early

As if the 2026 MLB season hasn’t been bad enough for the Toronto Blue Jays already on the injury front, they received another double dose of it on Sunday in their game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Both Blue Jays stars Dylan Cease and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had to leave Sunday's game (May 24) early due to injuries. Cease was removed after recording two outs in the fifth inning. The 30-year-old right-hander appeared to be shaking out his legs while throwing some warmup pitches prior to his exit. Ultimately, it was revealed that Cease was suffering from mild left hamstring discomfort.

As for Guerrero, in the bottom half of the very same inning, he was hit by an inside pitch from Pirates’ starter Mitch Keller and quickly removed himself from the game due to a right elbow contusion. More worrisome was the fact that he walked swiftly past Jays’ manager John Schneider and trainers as he headed into the clubhouse. Fortunately the X-rays came back negative with respect to a fracture.

Blue Jays can’t afford to lose either of their stars for any significant period of time

In a season where the Blue Jays have been walloped by injury after injury, losing two potential difference makers is the last thing that they really need. Just even this past week, the Blue Jays lost two more pitchers to ailments in Tommy Nance due to right forearm discomfort and Joe Mantiply as a result of left knee inflammation.

Cease has been rock solid for Toronto so far in 2026, posting a 3-2 record with a tidy 2.98 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, along with an AL-leading 84 strikeouts in 57.1 innings pitched over 10 starts entering Sunday. More importantly, the 30-year-old veteran had been one of the most durable pitchers in the league, having made at least 32 starts in each of his past five seasons.

In terms of Guerrero, he might not be putting up the power numbers that many expected of him with just three home runs to date. Nevertheless, the 27-year-old star first baseman has still compiled a .287 average, .750 OPS, with 31 runs scored, 22 RBIs, 26 walks and 23 strikeouts in 52 total games played. To lose one of their offensive leaders for any amount of time would be detrimental for the Blue Jays, who have struggled at times to generate runs this season.

Hopefully, the injuries to both players turn out to be minor in nature and that they will be back on the field sooner rather than later.

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