Blue Jays search for pitching depth already paying off after recent injury news

The Toronto Blue Jays' relentless pursuit of starting pitchers this offseason looks prescient after the news that José Berríos will miss the start of the season due to a stress fracture in his elbow. It was previously reported that the 31-year-old was dealing with inflammation in his elbow that caused him to miss his latest Spring Training start. The inflammation was discovered during the insurance process before the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic, which prevented him from participating for Team Puerto Rico.

Meantime, Trey Yesavage has also been put on the shelf and will be on the IL when the season begins with a shoulder impingement.

The news comes at a time when the team is also faced with starting the season without fellow starter Shane Bieber. Following their slim loss in the World Series last year, the Blue Jays got off to a quick start this offseason by signing Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million contract.

The organization continued to add to its rotation by signing KBO star Cody Ponce to a three-year, $30 million deal. Finally, the front office ended weeks of speculation by bringing back three-time Cy Young award winner Max Scherzer on a one-year pact. At the time of the signings, it wasn’t clear what the plan was, but the old baseball saying of “things will figure themselves out” was a common refrain.

Blue Jays offseason plan to build up pitching depth may be the key to a successful season

Well, with just over a week until the start of the season, things have figured themselves out, and the pitching depth the franchise invested so heavily in is looking like a wise investment. At one point, the Blue Jays had eight starting pitchers on their roster, and they will need all that depth to start the season.

With Berrios, Yesavvage and Bieber set to miss the start of the season we'll likely see a modified rotation start the season. Kevin Gausman has been named the Opening Day starter, and Cease will almost certainly follow him. After that, Ponce is most likely to start the season as the third starter in the rotation.

Scherzer has been dominant in his limited spring action and would fit in nicely as the fourth member of the starting crew. As Yesavage progresses towards game action, it’s becoming increasingly possible that Eric Lauer rounds out the rotation at least to start the season. If he pitches like he did last season, the Blue Jays will be fine with Lauer rounding out their starting five. The lefty was used as a starter and reliever and went 9-2, with a 3.18 ERA, with 102 strikeouts over 104.2 innings.

Lauer may also be asked to move back to the bullpen depending on the returns of Bieber, Berrios and on Yesavage’s workload. One thing we learned last year is that the 30-year-old will do whatever is asked of him and will do it well.

It’s a good thing the Blue Jays invested so heartily in starting pitching this winter, as Bowden Francis, who began last season as the fifth starter, stumbled through 2025 and is out for this season with a UCL injury requiring Tommy John surgery. Instead of being forced to call up a promising but green prospect like Adam Macko, the team has reliable depth pieces they can lean on, which will serve them well throughout the season.