Blue Jays News: Adam Macko likely to undergo surgery; Jacob Barnes inks minor league deal

The Blue Jays' minor league pitching depth took a hit Monday, as manager John Schneider said that left-handed pitching prospect Adam Macko has a meniscus tear in his left knee and will likely undergo surgery, per Sportsnets' Shi Davidi.

Per Davidi, Macko "felt something" during a side session over the weekend and has an appointment scheduled for Wednesday.

Promising prospect to undergo surgery for meniscus tear

Macko ended last year as the Blue Jays No. 8 prospect per MLB Pipeline, and was getting some buzz as a guy who could make an impact on the MLB level at some point in 2025.

While he was born in Slovakia, he grew up in Ireland and played high school baseball in Canada, making him one of the best stories in the Blue Jays' system. He was acquired with Erik Swanson from the Mariners in exchange for Teoscar Hernández during the 2023 offseason.

Macko, who is on Toronto's 40-man roster, has struggled with injuries in his career already. He missed most of the 2022 season due to injury, and spent a month-and-a-half on the injured list last season due to forearm soreness. He didn't throw more than four innings in any of his starts after he returned from the injured list last year.

He has a career 4.46 ERA across 274 1/3 minor league innings. He had a 4.63 ERA in 93 1/3 innings last year across Single, Double and Triple-A.

A long-term injury to Macko would put even more stress on Toronto's pitching depth. While he wasn't expected to break camp with the Blue Jays, he stood out as a good depth piece who could have been called on if another starter got hurt and/or struggled.

His injury could provide more MLB opportunites for Jake Bloss, Eric Lauer and Adam Kloffenstein.

The Jays responded to Macko's injury by signing free agent reliever Jacob Barnes to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.

Barnes, 34, spent all of last season with the Nationals, where he went 8-3 with a 4.36 ERA in 66 innings out of the bullpen. He pitched with the Blue Jays in 2021 and had a 6.30 ERA in 10 innings.

A veteran of nine MLB seasons with nine different clubs, Barnes has a career 4.69 ERA in 328 2/3 innings. He finished last year in the 71st percentile in fastball velocity and the 75th percentile in barrel rate.