MLB perfectly sums up Blue Jays' harshest spring lesson as Opening Day looms

They say you're only as good as the next day's starting pitcher. The Toronto Blue Jays seemingly wanted to test that theory farther than it's ever been tested and set about scooping up as many pitchers as they could this offseason.

Since the end of the World Series, the Blue Jays have added (or retained) Shane Bieber, Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce, Tyler Rogers, Josh Fleming, Jack Cushing, Jesse Hahn, Spencer Miles and Max Scherzer, just to name a few. Not all of them were inked to major league deals, but it does give a snapshot of the game plan the front office pursued heading into 2026. And as they've learned this spring, that pursuit paid off big time considering the injuries that piled up.

You can never have enough pitching is a theory the Blue Jays took to heart this offseason

MLB.com took a look at the most important lessons each team learned at camp and for the Blue Jays it was obvious, no amount of pitching depth can ever be enough. Every time the Blue Jays added an arm, people wondered where exactly that player would fit into Toronto's plans? But as it turns out, all of that configuring has taken care of itself.

With Bieber's ramp up to start the season being delayed, José Berrios dealing with a stress fracture and Trey Yesavage beginning the season on the IL the Blue Jays need to dip into their depth right out of the gate. That's what makes the Scherzer signing so important, and timely. It's also why it makes sense to bring in Ponce from overseas to see if he can replicate some of his numbers from there at the MLB level.

They've also announced that Eric Lauer will begin the year as one of their starting five. Lauer, who started 15 games for the Blue Jays last year and gave them some stability while they were scrambling to hold the rotation together, lost his arbitration case this offseason and is making reliever type money. However, he might end up being used more as a starter this season, which hopefully doesn't cause a rift between Lauer and the Blue Jays - but could help him land a starters style contract somewhere next offseason.

This also means the Blue Jays don't have to completely dip into their Triple-A depth right away, and rely on someone that just isn't ready yet. Those options include No. 5 prospect Ricky Tiedemann or No. 17 prospect Adam Macko. Then next group of guys who they would rather only rely on in an absolute pinch would be the likes of Yariel Rodriguez, Michael Plassmeyer, or CJ Van Eyk. Again, guys who are fine in a pinch for a spot start at some point over the summer, but not guys you want to plug in coming out of the gates.

While the Blue Jays rotation isn't lining up with how they likely envisioned it to back in January, they've done enough work to have something they can be comfortable with until the reinforcements arrive down the line.