Blue Jays manager John Schneider announced to reporters today that he is a lefty Patrick Corbin it is taken to the barn. He was expected to start tomorrow’s game. That will be started now Spencer Miles or opener, depending on how things go tonight. Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith was among those who broke the news.
Corbin, 36, is still a veteran of softball at this point in his career. Most recently, he remained unsigned until the start of the 2026 campaign. The Jays found him in early April. They had started the season with Trey Yesavage, José Berríos again Shane Bieber on the injured list. Cody Ponce then hit the IL after spraining the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in his season opener.
Despite being a late signing, Corbin stood out on his own and quickly made the jump to the big league roster. At first he gave great help to the Jays. Despite the injuries mentioned above, the Jays have seen again Dylan Cease again Max Scherzer hit the IL. They continue again Eric Lauer after struggling and complaining about his role, he was traded to the Dodgers. While all that was happening, Corbin posted a 3.65 earned run average over ten starts in April and May.
Since the calendar has changed to June, things have changed. Corbin has an 8.69 ERA over his five starts this month. Toronto’s rotation also got healthy during the offseason and is healthy now Kevin GausmanCease, Yesavage and Bieber in four spots.
That still leaves one opening but the Jays can fix that a little bit. As mentioned, they will likely do some sort of bullpen game tomorrow with Miles and/or Corbin in bulk roles. Then they have days off on July 2nd and 9th, and then the All-Star Break begins on July 13th. Maybe they’ll be able to get through that stretch of the game with four decent starters, while Corbin and Miles provide some length at times. Miles has served as a traditional reliever and a lot guy this year with a 3.00 ERA, 24.3% strikeout rate, 7.8% walk rate and 54.3% ground ball rate in 51 innings.
After the break, the Jays went 13 in a row, so they had a strong desire for a suitable fifth starter at that point. Maybe Scherzer will be able to get out of IL then. They are boys again Jake Bloss, Simeon Woods Richardson, Chad Dallas again Lazaro Estrada in Triple-A and he can call up one of them.
Beyond that, the August 3 trade deadline is looming. General manager Ross Atkins talked about starting pitching as a possibility, though the Jays will have to stay in the running between now and then. The latest six-game losing streak has dropped them to the bottom of the American League’s tight race.
Fortunately for the Jays, many other clubs are struggling, so their 40-45 record is good enough to be within 2.5 games of a playoff spot at this point. If they fall too far, they could look at the vendor position, although the club will obviously rely on that or they will gain ground in the coming weeks.
Photo courtesy of Dale Zanine, Imagn Images
