Blue Jays Make Key Roster Moves Starting With Little to Bolster Pitching Staff
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After the offseason that the Toronto Blue Jays had, it is nearly unfathomable how their season has begun, as their pitching staff is bleeding with injuries right now.
They were already short-staffed before the first pitch was even thrown for their 2026 season, and then another starter went down in the second series of their year. Now, John Schneider and the front office are scrambling as they decide what to do moving forward.
For today, they added a pair of pitchers to the active roster: Joe Mantiply and Austin Voth. Both signed minor league deals with the Jays this offseason to provide more arms to the rotation. Their chance might come much quicker than anyone expected.
In order to make room for both, the Jays optioned a struggling Brendon Little, who arguably cost them a pair of games, as well as Lazaro Estrada, who was decent in his one relief outing, but the Jays need starters.
ROSTER MOVES:
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 5, 2026
🔹 LHP Joe Mantiply and RHP Austin Voth selected to Major League Roster and will be active today
🔹 RHP Lazaro Estrada and LHP Brendon Little optioned to Triple-A
🔹 RHP Cody Ponce and OF Anthony Santander transferred to 60-day IL pic.twitter.com/opbtDMUfDt
On another note, Cody Ponce was moved to the 60-Day injured list alongside outfielder Anthony Santander. Luckily, Toronto has plenty of depth in the outfield; the pitching staff, however, not so much.
Hopefully, Voth's sub-4.00 ERA from 2025 (in Japan) transfers back into the majors while Mantiply looks like the same pitcher in spring training who posted a 3.00 ERA in his one outing for the Jays.
Loss After Loss for the Rotation
It has been grimacing to watch the Blue Jays' starters continue to drop like flies.
Right now, there are a lot of questions surrounding all of the injuries that have dismantled the starting rotation:
- Jose Berrios: Stress Fracture
- Trey Yesavage: Should Impingement
- Shane Bieber: Elbow Inflammation/ Forearm Fatigue
- Cody Ponce: ACL Spain (seeking another opinion)
These types of injuries are primarily based on how the pitcher responds to rehab and then how they feel when throwing resumes. It isn't as clear-cut as a Tommy John, where the ballclub knows that the pitcher is done for the year.
Brendon Little has been a weak link of the Blue Jays bullpen this season pic.twitter.com/uMTRNaQTgh
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) April 5, 2026
So, does Toronto gamble and hope that their stars come back much sooner than later? Or make a massive move early on and get someone else?
That is a tough decision for the front office. If they continue to drop games, it could be the latter of the two, but it looks like Triple-A pitchers are going to get the call.
Unfortunately, the organization doesn't have much time to figure it out. They have already dropped their current series against the Chicago White Sox of all teams, following the loss to the Colorado Rockies.
The Blue Jays season started pretty weak, but now they have to face off with the reigning world champions as short-handed as a team could be.
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.