Blue Jays Likely Welcoming Back Two Pitchers From Lengthy Injured List Soon
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The injured list has not been kind to the Toronto Blue Jays this season, as they have not been spared since Opening Day, and unfortunately, it hasn't been getting any slower. Every time someone rejoins the team, another finds themselves with an IL stint.
The latest victims have been both starting pitcher Max Scherzer (back spasms), who was scratched from his start on June 17 at Fenway Park, and outfielder Daulton Varsho, who continues to deal with swelling in his wrist.
While it has been less than an ideal time for the Blue Jays this season, they finally have a pair of pitchers that are inches from taking the hill in Toronto as both Shane Bieber and Yimi Garcia completed another rehab assignment in Triple-A.
John Schneider says that Shane Bieber's pitch count "is enough" at this point after throwing 80 today.
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) June 17, 2026
Bieber will travel to Chicago to meet the team there. He'll throw a bullpen and they'll talk it through. Possible he's ready, especially with Scherzer to the IL. #BlueJays
Neither has been available to the team this year, and the absence has been felt to say the least, especially in the starting rotation. However, Bieber worked his pitch count up to 80 on Wednesday afternoon, which is the only reason he hadn't been activated quite yet.
Next steps are still to be determined, but it seems likely that his next start could easily come during their next home stand, which kicks off June 22. Garcia, on the other hand, is going to make at least one more outing with Buffalo.
Tuesday evening, Garcia struck out the side with 13 pitches, but he is going to make one more appearance with the Bisons on Thursday, which could easily be his last in the minor leagues.
Other Recent News Regarding Blue Jays' Injuries
It has been a rough go of things for the Jays utility man Addison Barger as he played in a measly eight games before he was placed on IL with a high ankle sprain, causing him to miss more than a month, and when he did return it was for one game.
Barger drew two walks and scored a run of his own against the Los Angeles Angels on May 9. However, his elbow flared up with a phenomenal defensive play, and he has missed even more time because of it.
There hadn't been much word regarding his progress towards another return until Tuesday, when the ballclub announced that he had been hitting off a machine and throwing up to 150 feet. This means a rehab assignment could be coming quite soon.
As Barger nears an assignment, the hope is that Varsho will not be in need of anything of the sort but will simply need to meet the minimum number of days and can return with the team as early as Saturday.
Since Varsho has already begun hitting again, he could rejoin the team alongside Garcia and Bieber quite quickly.
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Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.