Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins met with members of the media today, including Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith. “Maybe it’s starting to throw,” Atkins said, when asked about the roster spot he sees as the biggest opportunity for improvement before the trade deadline. “But it’s not as easy as deciding to do that, because we have five starters we’re confident in. But you can never have enough of them.” He went on to add that the club will have an opportunity to start the game but noted that finding that type of player will be a challenge.
Toronto’s rotation has been a problem all year. It once felt like the Jays had eight viable options for five positions in the rotation. On paper, they had it Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage, Cody Ponce, Shane Bieber, José Berríos, Max Scherzer again Eric Lauer. It quickly became clear that the Jays did not expect all eight to be healthy to start the year. Yesavage, Bieber and Berríos all started the season on the injured list, though that still left the Jays with five good options.
Things got worse when the season started. Ponce suffered a torn ACL in his knee at the start of the season, prompting the Jays to sign him. Patrick Corbin. Ponce needed surgery and it took about a year. Scherzer spent more than a month on the IL due to tendinitis in his right arm and inflammation in his left ankle. He returned and made one start before back injuries put him back on the shelf. He ended up missing a few weeks with a muscle strain. Lauer struggled enough to be selected for assignment and turned to the Dodgers.
Through all of those struggles, Gausman has been the only constant. As others have come and gone, the Jays have had to get creative. Rule 5 choose Spencer Miles was working in the rotation for a while, working most of the innings behind the openers. Boys love it Simeon Woods Richardson, Lázaro Estrada, Austin Voth, Josh Fleming again Chad Dallas they have been called to provide the first place or most of the work.
Despite all that injury trouble, the Jays hung in the race, with some help from the American League’s weakest outfield. Their 39-40 record is not surprising but they hold the last AL Wild Card spot for now.
The replacement team just settled down for the first time in months. Yesavage was not in IL before the end of April. Cease and Bieber are now back on their IL mission. Those three, along with Gausman and Corbin, give the Jays a solid quintet. Miles and Woods Richardson are each in the bullpen. Scherzer could be back in the mix soon once the back pain subsides.
With a team in such a volatile spot, it sounds like Atkins is more concerned with depth than adding a front-of-rotation, playoff-caliber starter. As already mentioned, he came up with the idea of getting a choice of depth through rotation. That’s hard to come by, Atkins admitted, because all clubs want to have emergency plans in place for unavoidable injury situations.
That’s something the Jays don’t agree with. Jake Bloss an option but probably not immediately. He underwent UCL surgery in May of last year and is still working on getting back to regular starter form. He made his Complex League debut in May, then played in Single-A and Double-A. He made his Triple-A start last week and made his second start today. The first saw him allow two earned runs in four innings, throwing 65 pitches. Today, he allowed five runs in 3 1/3 innings, throwing 65 pitches as well.
Atkins was asked about Bloss this week but didn’t want to put a timeline on him being part of the big league club “because there are two things there,” Atkins said. “One will be his health and recovery, and the second will be his growth.” Atkins added that there will be a lot of focus on the short time Bloss keeps her life. “It’s not the time to push, it’s the time to make sure you’re taking the next safe step.”
Beyond Bloss, guys like Dallas, Estrada and Ricky Tiedemann are not listed. Tiedemann missed most of 2024 and all of 2025 due to Tommy John surgery. He was doomed by ongoing arm problems here in 2026. He just started playing one inning in the Complex League this month. Dallas also missed 2025 while recovering from surgery. He hasn’t gone more than four innings in any outing this year, majors or minors. Estrada has spent time on the injured list and has often worked two to three innings over the past month.
It is understood that the Jays will be looking for someone reliable in Nathi, who is waiting for the call. Miles cannot be sent down as a Rule 5 pick. Woods Richardson is out of picks. Corbin has been a great asset to the club when everyone else has been injured but has an 8.22 ERA over his past four starts. Scherzer is a big wild card right now, as he has a 10.23 ERA around his injuries this season but was effective at times last year. Bieber’s start in the IL was not encouraging, as he allowed four earned runs in 3 2/3 innings with his fastball below where it was last year.
Things are changing fast and more developments are sure to come between now and the deadline. The Jays will have time to check how things are going with all the guys on this team. It is not yet clear which strikers from other teams will be available, as several clubs are clearly out of contention. As noted by Atkins, it is shaping up to be a seller’s market, with many clubs looking to deepen but very few looking to market.
Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro, Imagn Images
