Back End of Blue Jays Rotation Requires Serious Decisions Ahead
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For much of the 2026 season, determining who gets the starting nod for the Toronto Blue Jays has been less about who is the best option and more about who is healthy enough to give them a few innings.
It's ultimately a nice problem to have that a now-healthy unit gives the coaching staff the opportunity to make decisions. And not a minute too soon either, considering the club's continued struggles with consistency.
Still, even a healthy starting five offers no guarantee of success. While Kevin Gausman and Dylan Cease have been stellar for the Blue Jays so far this year, there has been little certainty beyond No.s 1 and 2.
Trey Yesavage has come back down to Earth somewhat after a blistering first five starts upon returning from his own season-opening injury stint, allowing five or more runs in three of his past four starts. However, the 22-year-old likely still has plenty of runway before his place in the rotation is called into question, largely due to the uncertainty behind him.
Even as the rotation gets healthier, it's also worth remembering that Cody Ponce (right knee ACL sprain), José Berríos (Tommy John surgery) and Bowden Francis (Tommy John surgery) will still not be around to help Toronto down the stretch.
If Gausman, Cease and Yesavage are entrenched as starters for the Blue Jays, that leaves two remaining slots to sort out over what is now 90 games remaining in the regular season. In the face of struggles, surprises, trades and the ever-looming threat of injuries, let's examine the team's options moving forward:
Shane Bieber
From a starting pitching standpoint, Shane Bieber stands as the final return on the horizon. And that return could be imminent.
Bieber is reportedly set for one more rehab start at Triple-A Buffalo before making his way back to the big league roster, assuming all goes well. It's hard to know what to expect from a pitcher who has seen action in just nine regular season games since the end of the 2023 season, but anything resembling the front line form he has showed throughout his career and teased in his recent rehab start would probably be enough to make him a rotation fixture.
Based on Bieber's pedigree, the 2020 AL Cy Young winner will likely slot into a starting spot when he is ready to return. Even numbers that mirror his seven post-trade and post-Tommy John appearances with the Blue Jays last season (4-2, 3.57 ERA, 37 strikeouts) would bring some welcome stability. And if he falters, there remain options behind him.
Patrick Corbin
Patrick Corbin deserves plenty of credit for keeping Toronto afloat amidst all of their injury turmoil. If it weren't for his steady presence (2-1 with a 3.60 ERA in six May starts) at a time when the rotation was reeling, who knows where the club would be at this point.
Unfortunately for Corbin, the veteran left-hander is beginning to struggle at a time when arms are returning to health and decisions have to be made. Through three starts this month, the 36-year-old is 0-2 with an 8.49 ERA. Considering he didn't even begin the season in the team's plans, it may not take much to render him expendable.
Corbin will probably be afforded some time as Bieber continues to ramp up, although the Blue Jays will need to make a roster decision on who to send down once he is ready to be called back up.
Max Scherzer
Is the Hall of Fame-worthy career of Max Scherzer finally in its twilight? The high-intensity right-hander has delivered in enough big moments (last season included) to make it difficult to ever count out the three-time Cy Young winner, but his 2026 numbers (1-4 with a 10.23 ERA) give the impression that Father Time is finally catching up to the near 42-year-old.
Scherzer is expected to get some leeway in order to see whether he can work his way back into form after missing six weeks with right forearm tendinitis and left ankle inflammation. But for as popular as 'Mad Max' has become in Toronto, it's getting harder to see him as anything other than a net negative this season.
Toronto has done well to tread water and remain in, at least, the AL wild card mix with what has been a patchwork rotation. Now, with a healthy set of starters, the question is who can help them make that next push in pursuit of another playoff berth.
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Ben Fisher is a long-time sportswriter and baseball lover, dating back to 2008, when he was a member of the media relations team for the Toronto Blue Jays. He has covered a wide range of sports for a seemingly endless array of publications, including The Canadian Press, Fansided and The Hockey Writers. When he isn't writing about sports, he can be found coaching his equally baseball-obsessed sons' Little League teams.