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Blue Jays: Yimi García’s return put on pause after experiencing bicep soreness

Michael Coyle — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 19:19:52 GMT

The 2026 version of the Toronto Blue Jays just keeps struggling with the injury bug.

On Monday, before the Blue Jays’ 4-2 series-opening win over the Houston Astros, manager John Schneider provided a concerning update on the Yimi García injury front.

Four days after making what was supposed to be his eighth and final rehab outing in the minor leagues, Schneider reported that García was experiencing soreness in his biceps area. The soreness is different from the elbow procedure that García was working his way back from last September.

While no clear, concise or updated timeline was provided for García when Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins spoke to the media today at Rogers Centre, he did provide the status of where the doctors feel he is at as of right now.

“Doctors have continued to be encouraged and see mostly positive signs,” Atkins said. “It’s very complex, the way the shoulder connects to the arm, and all the nerves that are involved is an extremely complex problem.”

Yimi García had some soreness after his last rehab outing, so he’s meeting with the #BlueJays’ doctors now.

Long, slow rehab process is on pause for now.

— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) June 22, 2026

García’s setback brings to a halt what has been a methodical build-up process to begin with. After opening the season on the 15-day injured list, García was transferred to the 60-day IL but was still expected to return at some point in June.

After being shut down due to previous soreness after his first rehab outing in the FCL on May 7, García returned to the mound on May 29 and has been slowly building up his pitch count and velocity in the outings that followed.

After striking out the side on June 16 and topping out at 96.6 MPH with his fastball, García returned to Buffalo on June 18 for what was likely to be one final outing in Triple-A, but the results that followed in that outing were concerning. The 35-year-old turned in a pitching line of 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, and was only able to reach 94.6 MPH.

Over the course of four outings with the Bisons, García is 1-0 with a 10.80 ERA and 2.40 WHIP across 3.1 innings pitched. The right-hander has been able to strike out five batters but has allowed opponents to hit .375 during his four appearances.

Before being injured last season, García was a big piece of the Blue Jays’ bullpen over his 22 games. García went 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over 21 innings pitched, all while holding teams to a .171 average against. With a severely overworked bullpen through 78 games, a healthy García could provide a major boost as the Blue Jays hunt down a second straight playoff berth.

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Blue Jays promote prospect Giaconino Lasaracina to Single-A

Ryley Delaney — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 19:15:39 GMT

The Dunedin Blue Jays have not just one, but now two Italians on the roster.

On Tuesday morning, Francys Romero reported that the Toronto Blue Jays promoted Giaconino Lasaracina to the D-Jays after a terrific start in the Florida Complex League.

Italian-Venezuelan catcher Giaconino Lasaracina was promoted to Single-A Dunedin in the last few hours.

Lasaracina, 22, hit 6 HR in the ACL and is becoming a great story after signing just hours before the start of the WBC following three seasons playing in Italian baseball. https://t.co/G0ex6dgTYU

— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) June 23, 2026

Born in Venezuela but representing Italy’s national team, the Blue Jays signed the catcher/first baseman on March 2nd earlier this year. Beginning his season with the FCL Blue Jays, Lasaracina slashed .365/.441/.788 with six home runs in just 59 plate appearances, good for an 186 wRC+. He also had an 11.9 BB% and 30.5 K%.

Those six home runs are tied for 18th in the organization, but unlike most others with that number of home runs, Lasaracina has just 59 plate appearances. Only two other players, Hedbert Perez and Sam Shaw, have hit home runs at a similar rate. This season, Perez has six home runs in just 48 plate appearances, while Shaw has five home runs in 98 plate appearances.

While this is Lasaracina first taste of action in an affiliate system, the 22-year-old spent three seasons playing professional baseball in Italy. With Serie A1’s BC Settimo Baseball in 2022, Lasaracina slashed .406/.470/.574 with no home runs in 117 plate appearances.

The following season, he slashed .338/.417/.556 with two home runs and 13 doubles in 151 plate appearances, then slashed .387/.472/.613 with four home runs in 127 plate appearances in 2024.

While hitting six home runs and four doubles in 59 plate appearances is impressive, Lasaracina was doing that in a rookie league at the age of 22. Single-A will be a bit tougher for the catcher/first baseman, but a good start could see him potentially reach High-A by the end of the season.

Despite a fourth-placed finish in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, Italy is not your prototypical baseball country. In fact, only three players on Italy’s roster were born in Italy, with four the national team have four play in Serie A1 in 2025.

That said, Lasaracina is the second Italian to join the D-Jays recently, as Giacomo Taschin has made one start with the Single-A team this season. He was teammates with Lasaracina in the FCL, where the 19-year-old lefty posted a 1.99 ERA and 3.75 FIP in 22.2 innings of work. In his one Single-A start, Taschin gave up two earned runs over three innings of work.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

2026 Trade Deadline preview: Blue Jays’ roster needs, trade partners, potential targets and prospect arsenal

Thomas Hall — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 19:00:18 GMT

Don’t look now, but Major League Baseball’s trade season is fast approaching.

This season’s trade deadline, bumped to Aug. 3 to prevent it from falling on a weekend, will arrive in just over a month, if you can believe it. That means there’s still plenty of time for the landscape to change in the wide-open American League. Most clubs will use these next few weeks to determine whether they should buy, sell or do neither.

For the Toronto Blue Jays, though, unless they suddenly lose every game between now and then (you didn’t hear that, baseball gods), the expectation is that, after returning to .500 on Monday, they’ll remain an aggressive buyer leading up to this year’s deadline.

Despite a bumpy first half, the franchise currently finds itself in the AL’s final wild-card seed, looking up at both the Tampa Bay Rays and division-leading New York Yankees. But whether it’s climbing up the wild-card standings or making another come-from-behind dash at the division title, nothing should be considered out of reach for general manager Ross Atkins’ team.

They’ve already come too far — and invested too much, sitting over $14 million above the fourth and final luxury tax threshold ($304 million), per FanGraphs’ RosterResource — to approach the 2026 trade deadline any differently.

As this season has proved, the Blue Jays’ roster isn’t perfect — in fact, you could argue it’s far from it. The impending return of a few core injured players — Shane Bieber on Tuesday against the Houston Astros, and Addison Barger (who could begin a rehab assignment on Thursday) likely in early July — should help in that regard. However, some holes will need to be addressed via trade.

And it’s pretty clear what those holes are.

How to improve the roster

There’s no better place to start than with Toronto’s frustratingly inconsistent offence.

Scoring runs, or a lack thereof, has often stood out like a sore thumb as they enter Tuesday’s slate 24th in runs scored per game (4.1) this season. This lineup has lacked an identity most nights. By many metrics, it’s viewed as an average offence — if not a tick or two below that.

Everything revolves around Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who remains stuck on four home runs thus far and has yet to recapture the dominance that transformed him into a post-season hero last fall. No. 27 needs more help. Better days should lie ahead for this offence, considering it’s been without a healthy George Springer, Alejandro Kirk, Nathan Lukes, Daulton Varsho and Barger at one time or another.

Adding another impact bat to this mix, which has received strong contributions from rookie Kazuma Okamoto, Ernie Clement and Jesús Sánchez, should be among the organization’s top priorities ahead of this season’s deadline. While that hasn’t traditionally been the case in previous years, as the majority of their mid-season splashes have catered to the pitching front, perhaps this is the year that changes.

Maybe it’s not in the form of a game-changing, middle-of-the-order bat. It’d be a tad difficult to accommodate consistent playing time for an everyday player given this roster’s current construction, anyway. At the very least, though, they need to become a little more right-handed to help offset their season-long woes against left-handed pitching.

	AVG/OBP/SLG	ISO	wRC+
TOR hitters vs. RHP	.262/.320/.406	.144	101
TOR hitters vs. LHP	.218/.296/.357	.139	83

Due to Toronto’s surplus of left-handed-hitting outfielders, the likes of Sánchez and Yohendrick Piñango have taken more at-bats versus southpaws (with the duo a combined 7-for-53 in those matchups) out of necessity, as a result of Davis Schneider’s poor results prior to returning from Triple-A Buffalo and Myles Straw producing better reverse splits.

Ideally, the Blue Jays’ brass can bring in a lefty-mashing, right-handed bat with a bit of defensive versatility between the infield and outfield. At this point, such a player would have to offer an upgrade over Schneider.

Beyond improving the offence, the next big-ticket item on their deadline shopping list should probably include a starting pitcher. But there’s an opportunity to act a bit creatively here. With Dylan Cease, Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage and Bieber in the rotation, they don’t necessarily have to shop at the top of the market. A dependable back-end starter would do nicely, too.

Since Gausman, Bieber, Patrick Corbin and Max Scherzer are free agents after this season, Toronto’s front office can also canvass beyond the rental market, weighing the costs of acquiring a controllable starter. But should that avenue prove too lucrative, they could always make a splash for an impending free agent and attempt to retain them beyond ’26.

The back end of the bullpen could also use an upgrade. It has, by far, been the club’s biggest strength this season. But it’s also endured the most wear and tear thus far. Of the sport’s 16 most-used relievers this season, four are Blue Jays — Tyler Rogers, Louis Varland, Mason Fluharty and Jeff Hoffman — and Braydon Fisher isn’t far behind, on pace to set a career-high in appearances and innings pitched in his second major league season.

Looking at this ‘pen, six of the eight spots should be considered locks, including Varland, Rogers, Hoffman, Fluharty, Fisher, and Spencer Miles. Add in a multi-inning reliever role, currently held by Simeon Woods Richardson, and that leaves just one spot available for an external addition.

Barring an injury to the group above, that may ultimately make Tommy Nance — who’s out of options and has struggled in six appearances (5.40 ERA and 8.70 FIP) since returning from the injured list — the odd man out in this situation.

Which teams will sell and should eventually sell

This is where the gap to the Aug. 3 trade deadline complicates matters. Right now, you can count the number of teams that will definitely sell with one hand.

Since the Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants and New York Mets are each at least more than five games out of a playoff spot, we can safely declare them as projected sellers. The Los Angeles Angels, owners of MLB’s second-worst record, should be included alongside them, too. But because they have routinely zigged when everyone else has zagged, even the most informed minds often struggle to predict their deadline plans.

Even if we include the Angels as sellers, that only brings us to six teams with assets to move. Everyone else still believes they have a shot at the post-season, with all but three clubs in each league either holding a playoff spot or are within five games of one. The inclusion of a third wild-card seed has created an extreme sellers’ market in recent seasons, and even more so this year, with the trade deadline pushed into August.

More teams will end up selling after the dust settles. We just don’t know who they’ll be quite yet. Based on the current standings, those with the highest odds of dropping out of the playoff races and becoming sellers include the Detroit Tigers (Tarik Skubal watch), Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles on the AL side, and the Cincinnati Reds in the NL.

If the Tigers indeed sell, Skubal will instantly become the most sought-after player on the market, and the Blue Jays should be in play, among several other competing clubs. But they’ll surely have other interests, too, such as a reliever from the Red Sox (Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Whitlock), Royals (Alex Lange, Lucas Erceg), Mets (Luke Weaver, Brooks Raley) or Astros (Steven Okert).

Or a starting pitcher from perhaps the Orioles (Trevor Rogers), Angels (Reid Detmers), Giants (Robbie Ray) or Twins (Joe Ryan). That final team listed may also end up moving an impact bat, Byron Buxton, whose full no-trade clause allows him to control his fate. The Reds are another potential suitor with an intriguing option in the hitter market: Spencer Steer.

Prospects who could be on trade watch

With how aggressive the Blue Jays will likely be, this might be the first time in the Ross Atkins-Mark Shapiro era where no untouchables exist in the farm system. It’s World Series or bust, meaning the time for prospect hoarding of any kind may soon be over.

One of the best examples of that is the situation surrounding Sean Keys, who won’t be Rule 5-eligible until after next season, but is already deserving of a 40-man roster spot. He’s dominated the Triple-A circuit thus far, hitting .280/.410/.640 with nine extra-base hits (four home runs) and 12 RBIs in 15 games, worth a 166 wRC+ (100 league average).

If Keys — who’s only played first or third base in his career — had a pathway to the majors, he’d probably be up with the Blue Jays right now. Since he isn’t at risk of being claimed in this fall’s Rule 5 draft, there isn’t any urgency to make a move any time soon. In fact, the organization could keep him at Triple-A for the rest of ’26 if it wanted.

Or… the 23-year-old lefty slugger could be utilized to execute a meaningful trade as one of Toronto’s most appealing position-player prospects.

SEAN KEYS FOR THE WIN ‼️ pic.twitter.com/7bOlF2Q3ix

— Buffalo Bisons (@BuffaloBisons) June 21, 2026

There’s a similar argument about Piñango, as well, after he impressed during his 43-game sample size with the Blue Jays. Because he’s a left-handed-hitting outfielder, his pathway is also blocked when Sánchez, Lukes and Varsho are healthy at the same time — and that’s before including Barger.

With all three minor-league options remaining, plus a bit of major league experience, Piñango’s trade value has never been higher than now — same for Keys, and Charles McAdoo, another bat-first prospect without a clear big-league trajectory. In terms of MLB-ready hitters, those three are the best that this organization has to offer.

Of course, there are higher-ceiling hitting prospects at the levels below, such as Arjun Nimmala, Jojo Parker and Juan Sanchez. And that’s also true on the pitching side, starting with Johnny King. But every front office must also remain mindful of asset management, particularly as it pertains to the upcoming class of prospects who will enter the Rule 5 draft if they aren’t protected on the 40-man roster.

And there could be a small handful of popular names who end up being discussed because of that.

Notable prospects who’ll be Rule 5-eligible this fall: Gage Stanifer, Nolan Perry, Josh Kasevich, RJ Schreck, Tucker Toman, Daniel Guerra, Adrian Pinto, Brandon Barriera (injured), Fernando Perez and Victor Arias.

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June 23 Gameday: Blue Jays go for series win against Astros in Shane Bieber’s return

Aidan Sinclair — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 17:30:30 GMT

The Blue Jays, despite leaving 13 runners on base, were able to fend off the Houston Astros Monday night to climb back to .500. This was thanks to a Kazuma Okamoto solo home run and three sacrifice flies to win 4-2.

Though they had multiple opportunities to break open the game Monday night, the Jays were the better offensive team, outhitting the Astros 11-5, with Houston not recording a single XBH. Dylan Cease had another up-and-down outing, going 5.2 innings, striking out eight, and allowing just two runs, but walking four and throwing 110 pitches.

His season ERA now sits at 2.75. Braydon Fisher recorded four outs on six pitches and picked up the win, with Louis Varland collecting his sixteenth save of the season.

The Jays’ record now sits at an even 39-39, good for third in the American League East, holding the final Wild Card spot, one game ahead of the Athletics and Rangers. Though it has been a struggle for the Jays to gain any momentum and stretch their record to multiple games over .500, their next nine at home come against teams not currently in the playoff picture; a perfect time to pounce.

Today, they welcome back a former Cy Young winner to the mound for his first big league start of 2026.

Shane Bieber is returning to a big league mound for the first time since last season, when he pitched all the way through to game seven of the World Series, an intense workload after coming back from Tommy John surgery. Over the past few weeks, he has built up to a reasonable workload in triple-A Buffalo, most recently throwing 80 pitches across five innings, with a fastball around 92 mph. In his first test at the big league level, he goes up against an Astros lineup that ranks eighth-worst in team OPS in their last 15 games, with Yordan Alvarez being the only everyday hitter with an OPS over .800.

On the other hand, Peter Lambert takes the ball for the Astros, coming off one of his best starts of the season last week against the Tigers. The right-hander went seven innings, allowing just one run on two hits, walking two, and striking out five to pick up the win. He has been exceptional to start June, with 18.2 innings across three starts thus far, for a 1.93 ERA.

The Blue Jays’ lineup features five right-handed hitters with George Springer leading off, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. batting second, newly acquired Luis Urias batting seventh, and Myles Straw batting eighth. Jesus Sanchez moves up to the three spot in the lineup, with Daulton Varsho batting sixth and Andres Gimenez batting ninth.

Okamoto looks to keep the power streak alive, hitting cleanup today, with Brandon Valenzuela catching Shane Bieber’s first start of the campaign.

Location: Rogers Centre – Toronto, Canada

First Pitch: 4:07 PM EST

Watch/Listen: Sportsnet One, SN590

Starting Pitchers

Toronto Blue Jays – Shane Bieber: 2026 debut

Houston Astros – Peter Lambert: 6-4 record, 3.23 ERA, 64.0 IP, 58 SO, 25 BB

Lineups:

Blue Jays:

George Springer – DH
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – 1B
Jesus Sanchez – LF
Kazuma Okamoto – 3B
Brandon Valenzuela – C
Daulton Varsho – CF
Luis Urias – 2B
Myles Straw – RF
Andres Gimenez – SS

Astros:

Jose Altuve – 2B
Yordan Alvarez – DH
Christian Walker – 1B
Isaac Paredes – 3B
Yainer Diaz – C
Cam Smith – RF
Taylor Trammell – LF
Brice Matthews – CF
Raynel Delgado – SS

Blue Jays activate Shane Bieber, designate Hayden Juenger for assignment

Tyson Shushkewich — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 16:56:01 GMT

Shane Bieber is officially back.

After being announced as the Tuesday starter against the Houston Astros, the Toronto Blue Jays have officially activated Shane Bieber from the IL. On the active roster, Lazaro Estrada has been optioned back to Triple-A, and for the 40-man roster, the Jays have designated right-hander Hayden Juenger for assignment.

Bieber will be making his first start of the season after landing on the IL during Spring Training. The right-hander has been throwing in rehab games since May 25th and has been slowly upping his pitch count with each start. He last pitched against the Charlotte Knights on June 17th, where he went five innings and allowed seven hits, five earned runs and two home runs while also walking four compared to two strikeouts.

ROSTER MOVES:

🔹 RHP Shane Bieber reinstated from 60-day IL and will be active today

🔹 RHP Lazaro Estrada optioned to Triple-A

🔹 RHP Hayden Juenger designated for assignment pic.twitter.com/Ca978rB9lg

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 23, 2026

The right-hander rejoined the Jays this past winter after exercising his player option worth $16 million, foregoing free agency in favour of returning to Toronto. The Jays acquired Bieber from the Cleveland Guardians at the 2025 trade deadline in exchange for prospect Khal Stephen. Bieber would make seven starts for the Jays down the stretch, posting a 3.57 ERA and a 4.47 FIP. He also appeared in five games for Toronto during their World Series run.

To make room for Bieber on the 40-man roster, the Jays designated Hayden Juenger for assignment.

Juenger, a 6th-round pick of the organization back in 2021, has toiled in Triple-A Buffalo since 2022 and made his big league debut earlier this season. The right-hander appeared in two games for the Jays, allowing two hits, two walks, and three earned runs through two innings of work. This season in Triple-A, Juenger has pitched to a 2.59 ERA across 24.1 innings.

For the active roster, the Jays are sending right-hander Lazaro Estrada back to the Bisons.

The Cuban product was recently activated off the IL, and last appeared on June 20th against the Chicago White Sox, where he allowed one hit, two walks, and two earned runs through 2.1 innings of work.

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Instant Reaction: Blue Jays reach .500 mark with win over Astros

Michael Coyle — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 12:34:41 GMT

The Toronto Blue Jays did just enough on Monday night to defeat the Houston Astros 4-2 at Rogers Centre.

Over their eight innings at the plate, the Blue Jays’ offence recorded 11 hits and worked five walks to go along with two hit-by-pitches, but relied on three sacrifice flies to ensure they would get back to the .500 mark at 39-39.

After the Astros opened the game’s scoring in the first inning, Blue Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto launched a solo shot off Astros starting pitcher Hunter Brown in the second inning to even the game at 1-1.

Okamoto now leads all MLB third basemen in home runs with 17 and has become the only real consistent power threat in the Blue Jays’ lineup through the club’s opening 78 games. For the season, Okamoto is batting .234 to go along with his 17 home runs and a team-leading 46 RBIs, giving the Blue Jays much of what they hoped for when they signed the 29-year-old to a four-year, $60 million contract in January.

Okamoto with a solo home run to tie the game in the 2nd!

🎥 Sportsnet | #Bluejays pic.twitter.com/Fy8h72YDCc

— Blue Jays Nation (@thejaysnation) June 22, 2026

After knocking Brown out after three innings and 85 pitches, the Blue Jays opened the fourth inning by going single, walk, and then a sacrifice bunt, which Astros third baseman Raynel Delgado was charged with an error on. Then, up stepped Vladimir Guerrero Jr, who launched a 3-2 cutter from A.J. Blubaugh to left field to give the Blue Jays their first lead of the night.

The Astros knotted the game at 2-2 in the top of the sixth inning, but an inning later the Blue Jays found life with another sac fly. Daulton Varsho and Okamoto had back-to-back hits with one out in the seventh, which brought Myles Straw to the plate as a pinch-hitter after the Astros summoned left-hander Bryan King to face the originally scheduled Jesús Sánchez. Straw, like Guerrero, lifted a flyball to left field to give the Blue Jays a 3-2 advantage.

After Tyler Rogers escaped a threat in the top of the eighth inning, the Blue Jays pushed across a much-needed insurance run in the bottom half of the frame. The Blue Jays loaded the bases on singles by George Springer, Nathan Lukes, and Guerrero, which set up Alejandro Kirk with the bases loaded and nobody out. With the count 0-2, Kirk lifted a fly ball to left that brought home Springer to extend the lead to 4-2 and put a bow on the start of a 10-game home stand.

Dylan Cease turned in another strong outing after allowing two earned runs over 5.2 innings pitched. Cease allowed three hits and struck out eight, which raised his season total to 118 across his 78.2 innings this season.

Following Cease, the Blue Jays turned to Braydon Fisher (3-2), Rogers, and Louis Varland, who went on to record his 16th save of the season and lower his ERA to 0.84 with another strong showing out of the bullpen.

The Blue Jays will turn to Shane Bieber for his season debut on Tuesday, while the Astros will counter with right-hander Peter Lambert. First pitch is 4:07 p.m. EST at Rogers Center.

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Blue Jays’ 2026 outlook leaves little room for Lenyn Sosa

Ben Wrixon — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 22:00:30 GMT

Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider recently provided positive injury updates on two of the team’s position players who are currently sidelined, revealing that both Addison Barger and Lenyn Sosa were closing in on rehab assignments.

Barger will be welcomed with open arms upon his return—he was the team’s cleanup hitter on Opening Day, after all. The Blue Jays’ lineup has sorely missed his power bat.

The same can’t be said for Sosa, who was officially assigned to the Florida Complex League on Monday to begin his rehab stint. He was an unmitigated disaster at the plate after being acquired from the Chicago White Sox in the middle of April.

Sosa owns a .188/.205/.275 slash line through 84 plate appearances as a Blue Jay, walking just once while striking out 18 times. He’s performed roughly 70% worse than a league-average hitter at the plate in 2026 by wRC+ (30) and OPS+ (33), albeit with a smaller sample size.

The Blue Jays brought Sosa in hoping he could replicate his production from last season when he hit 22 home runs with a far more respectable .727 OPS (101 OPS+). He was particularly effective against left-handed pitching, which remains an area of need.

Lenyn Sosa puts the @WhiteSox ahead in the bottom of the 8th! pic.twitter.com/q8SXunGAxH

— MLB (@MLB) August 31, 2025

Unfortunately, opposing pitchers seem to have figured Sosa out, and he didn’t make the necessary counter-adjustments before finding himself on the IL. Their plan of attack to get him out is painfully simple: don’t throw him strikes because he swings at everything. The eye test absolutely supports his astronomical 50% chase rate at pitches outside the zone.

Sosa’s ability to play multiple infield positions was also seen as an asset on paper when the Blue Jays acquired him. Versatility is only valuable if said player contributes to winning at multiple spots.

The challenge for the Blue Jays from a roster management standpoint is that Sosa does not have any minor league options. They will either have to reinstate him when his IL stint is complete or, more likely, designate him for assignment and risk losing him entirely.

DFA’ing a player just a few months after trading for them is never a great look for a general manager. Sosa’s poor play has forced Ross Atkins’ hand, however, as choosing to keep him around over someone like Davis Schneider would be inexcusable.

The Blue Jays’ recent acquisition of Luis Urías and subsequent promotion to the big league squad on Monday might be foreshadowing the front office’s plans for Sosa, given how they overlap as right-handed hitting infielders. Urías was raking in the minor leagues and isn’t too far removed from a solid two-year stretch with the Milwaukee Brewers.

While the Blue Jays won’t make anything official with Sosa until they absolutely have to, his time in Toronto is likely over—and that’s for the best based on how it went.

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The T-Bird flies again: How this Blue Jays logo muscled its way back into fans’ hearts

Ian Hunter — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 20:00:40 GMT

What’s old is new again in Blue Jays Land. As part of their 50^th season celebration, the Toronto Blue Jays have gone back into the vault and revitalized their old logos from eras past.

Where the team once unveiled a design and seemingly never spoke of it again, they’ve embraced history with open arms, including all the previous logos the team has donned over the last 50 years.

That includes one bird that was the Blue Jays’ primary logo for a fleeting moment, and one of the most polarizing characters in club history: the T-Bird.

By 1999, the Toronto Blue Jays had only ever used two primary logos in the team’s then 22-year history: the original retro logo from 1977 to 1996, and a slightly different bird from 1997 to 2002.

The tides began shifting in the early 2000s as the “third jersey” craze took hold in professional sports, and alternate uniforms became all the rage in Major League Baseball. Not wanting to be left on the sidelines, the Blue Jays developed an alternate logo of their own.

The team approached the Toronto-based advertising agency, Echo Advertising. Ken Priestley was the art director, and as a firm that had experience creating promotional materials for concerts, theatre, and sports teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors, Echo was well-equipped to revamp the Blue Jays logo.

Echo Advertising’s resume included creating promotional items like booklets which advertised the Maple Leafs’ new home at the Air Canada Centre, as well as promotional material for the Rolling Stones’ Bridges to Babylon tour.

Yet this was the agency’s first foray into creating a logo from scratch for a professional sports team. The Blue Jays gave the firm a few parameters, but Priestley and his team had creative freedom to do as they saw fit. Priestley submitted a handful of drafts, and the Blue Jays were pleased with the initial results.

In previous iterations of the Blue Jays logo, only the head of the bird was visible. But in this new one, the firm wanted to add more personality to the bird by adding some physical characteristics which would make it a little more domineering than before.

Winnipeg Sun

They drew inspiration from the Baltimore Orioles’ cartoonish bird logo, which, oddly enough, made its own resurgence with that team beginning in 2012. Where the Blue Jays’ original logo was very kid-friendly, the T-Bird was the next phase in the bird’s evolution into a more youthful, dynamic, and vibrant character.

“The original bird we designed was a little friendlier,” Priestley said. “He ended up a little more intense-looking. One of the Blue Jays coaches commented that he wanted the bird to look tougher; that the wings should be more muscular, and it should have a more intense look to it.”

Also known by some fans as the “muscle bird,” the bird looks similar to the current iteration of the Blue Jays’ primary mascot, Ace. It’s a blue jay that looks like it never skipped arm day, with a swath of slick blue hair in the back, and a maple leaf tattoo on the left arm to reiterate the Canadian identity.

In January 2000, the Blue Jays announced they’d use the new T-Bird logo as part of their spring training uniforms, as well as a third alternate kit which would be worn sporadically throughout the regular season.

While the T is a primary figure of the logo, Priestley initially proposed the bird would be wrapped around the letter J for “Jays.” That idea was rejected by Major League Baseball, and so Echo Advertising pivoted and changed it to a T for “Toronto.”

During the first year of the logo in 2000, the T had some triangular serifs on the inner edges of the letter, which made it look similar to the Texas Rangers’ T in their logo. For the 2001 season, the white lining was swapped for blue, to mimic the Blue Jays’ famous split-letter font.

Chris Creamer/SportsLogos.net

By 2003, the T-bird became the primary logo for the Blue Jays, appearing on both the cap and the sleeve of the uniform. That was never in the initial plans for the logo, as it was originally treated more like a specialty design. But Priestley was pleasantly surprised to learn that what began as more of a novelty logo was soon elevated as the face of the franchise.

“It was unbelievable,” Priestley said. “I remember discussing it with my creative director at the time, and he said it was fantastic. It instantly becomes part of the team’s history. Even if it was only for a few years, it kept showing up occasionally. The fact that it came out of nowhere was really exciting.”

According to the Toronto Sun, the rationale behind choosing the T-bird as the team’s primary logo for the 2003 campaign was that research deemed the old logo to be outdated, so the T-bird was a stopgap until the team unveiled a revamped logo heading into the 2004 season.

As with any design change, there are always critics, and Priestley noted that many in the media weren’t fans of the new T-Bird design upon its release, and in the years afterwards. By the time the “Angry Bird” design came out in 2004, Bob Elliott said this in the Toronto Sun.

“We don’t have a problem getting rid of the giant ‘T’ in the current logo. We never understood the ‘T’ since the team was trying to sell merchandise to the people in the hinterlands … and the ‘T’ stands for Toronto, and everyone hates Toronto.”

For its time at the turn of the century, the T-Bird was an appropriate sports logo for its era. It accomplished what Priestley and Echo Advertising wanted to do, which was to give more personality to the logo and create a character that fans could identify with.

In 2026, the T-Bird was given new life. Often featured on promotional material for the Blue Jays’ 50^th season, it’s become a fan favourite again. Younger fans are discovering the logo for the first time, and maybe even some harsh critics from the past have come around on its design.

The T-Bird was revived for the Blue Jays’ Y2K weekend and was featured on their retro hoodie giveaway on April 24. Along with the Angry Bird logo, the original Blue Jays logo, and the adaptation logo used in the late 90s, all of them were given their equal place in Blue Jays history for a promotional giveaway.

In the Jays Shop at Rogers Centre, there are T-Bird varsity jackets, hoodies, and crewneck sweaters available as a time capsule of Blue Jays fashion in the early 2000s.

BlueJays.com

Where the feedback on the T-Bird logo may have skewed negative upon its initial release in 2000, like every design, it becomes in vogue again for a new generation.

Often connected to franchise cornerstone players like Roy Halladay and Carlos Delgado, the T-Bird holds a special place in the hearts of Blue Jays fans who endured one of the roughest patches of franchise history.

Therein lies the difficulty in designing a timeless logo that won’t look dated in a few years. You either try to get ahead of the curve and create something ultra-modern, but risk the logo being cast aside in a few years. Or, you design an homage to a previous logo in the hopes of tapping into that nostalgia factor.

Priestley and Echo Advertising tried something different with the T-Bird logo, which, in retrospect, should be commended. Given the passage of 20-plus years, the T-Bird is being viewed through rose-coloured glasses.

BlueJays.com

The logo has been given a second life, something its original designer is thankful to witness all these years later.

“A few years ago, a kid stopped me in the street because he talked to one of my neighbours, and he brought his jersey over for me to sign,” Priestley said. “He said: ‘You’re the best logo designer.’

“I always try to see that side to it. It’s so nice, especially after the initial reviews of the logo. Now, it’s fantastic.”

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Blue Jays: Checking in on Adam Macko since being optioned back to Buffalo

Ben Wrixon — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 18:00:24 GMT

Canadian pitcher Adam Macko made his MLB debut with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2026 before being unceremoniously demoted in a roster crunch in early June.

The left-hander shone in his first taste of big league action, striking out a dozen batters across 12 innings while allowing just two runs. He succeeded in a variety of roles, from “opener” on a bullpen day to pitching in high-leverage situations late in games.

Roster management in MLB is cutthroat. Macko being optioned to Triple-A had nothing to do with his performance—even Blue Jays manager John Schneider said he expected him back sooner rather than later.

Blue Jays optioned Adam Macko because of circumstance, not performance per John Schneider

“He was a pro about it. He understands that he’ll most likely to be back here at some point.”

— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) June 9, 2026

There’s still a clear opportunity for Macko on the Blue Jays, given they only have one left-handed reliever in the bullpen following Brendon Little’s call-up and subsequent demotion outing over the weekend. He could very well be the next man up.

Complicating things a bit, however, is that Macko hasn’t been sharp on the mound since returning to Triple-A Buffalo.

His first outing back with the Bisons on June 13th against the Syracuse Mets was uncharacteristically poor. He allowed two earned runs on two hits, a pair of walks (one intentional), and a hit batter in just one inning of work.

His next outing was a mixed bag against the Charlotte Knights four days later. He struck out the side without allowing a run, but once again gave up two hits in the process. He faced the Knights again in his next appearance on June 19th. They broke through on the scoreboard against him this time, tagging him for three hits and an unearned run. He only recorded two outs in what wound up being a short outing.

These shaky performances are in stark contrast to the version of Macko the Blue Jays got in his first stint with the team. What they are on par with, however, is the pitcher he has been for much of his time with the Bisons so far in 2026.

Adam Macko has his first big league strikeout 🫡 pic.twitter.com/tCrhDg5BwD

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 20, 2026

The young southpaw came out of the gates strong in early April, but gave up runs in five of his eight appearances before being called up to the Blue Jays out of pure necessity. He wasn’t exactly forcing their hand with his performance.

Macko has proven he can get major league hitters out, though, even if his track record suggests things might not always look as good as they did during his first stint with the Blue Jays. He flashed the stuff and composure necessary to get important outs for the big squad.

Carrying one lefty—Mason Fluharty—in the bullpen is unsustainable, especially when that lefty is already tied for the MLB lead in number of appearances. The Blue Jays should be considering a Macko promotion soon, regardless of his stats since his demotion.

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Blue Jays: Who goes from the roster when Luis Urias arrives

Tyson Shushkewich — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 17:00:41 GMT

The Toronto Blue Jays made a minor trade deal this past weekend, acquiring infielder Luis Urias from the Arizona Diamondbacks for cash considerations.

Urias has spent the entire campaign in the Diamondbacks’ farm system after signing a MiLB deal this past winter, and he has an upward mobility clause in his contract. The Dbacks apparently weren’t going to add him to the roster, so they traded him to the Jays instead, who are planning on adding him to the active roster.

Through 32 games this season (he missed some time on the IL), Urias owns a .347/.385/.508 slash line with nine doubles and three home runs with 21 RBIs. Most of that has come in Triple-A outside of 16 at-bats during his rehab assignment in the ACL, and it will be interesting to see how his bat translates back to the Major Leagues. The Mexican product has over 2000+ plate appearances in the big leagues dating back to 2018.

With Urias joining the Jays, this begs the question: who goes when he arrives?

Urias is going to be on the Jays’ bench, that much is certain. Kazuma Okamoto, Andres Gimenez, Ernie Clement, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. are the current go-to options for the infield, and Urias isn’t going to get regular reps with these four entrenched on the infield.

Expectation is Urias will join the Blue Jays’ major-league team after exercising an upward mobility clause https://t.co/zdKD1ZrLf8

— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) June 20, 2026

That leaves Yohendrick Pinango, Davis Schneider, and Myles Straw as the likely options to be moved when Urias arrives. And looking at this group, the decision becomes a bit easier.

Both Pinango and Schneider have options available, and they have both spent time in the minor leagues this season.

Pinango began the campaign in Triple-A before injuries saw the Venezuelan product get promoted to the big leagues, and the left-handed bat has been putting together strong results with the Jays. Across 43 games, he owns a .283/.331/.433 slash line with a .764 OPS, collecting seven doubles and four home runs. Pinango has been on a slump through his past seven games (just two hits through 18 at-bats), and his outfield defence has been an issue at times, so there is a chance he goes back to Triple-A to get things sorted out.

Schneider struggled mightily to begin the 2026 season and saw himself back in Buffalo by the end of May to figure things out away from the bright lights of the Rogers Centre. He returned to the active roster in mid-June, and since then, he’s put forward some much stronger at-bats. Across 20 AB’s and playing sparingly off the bench, he has six hits – four of which are for extra bases – and owns a .700 SLG and a 1.033 OPS through the small sample. Schneider can also play second base and the outfield, providing a bit more versatility for manager John Schnieder compared to Pinango and his corner outfield split.

The easy business decision makes it likely that either Pinango or Schneider are going to get optioned back to Buffalo, and if recent metrics are any indicator, it is likely Pinango heading back to the Bisons.

Schneider is older and doesn’t need more development, and he works well as a bench player for the rest of the season, while also being able to play more positions than his counterpart. The Jays are adding Urias to give the bench some more infield flexibility, and it may all be a moot point in the coming weeks anyway.

Addison Barger is slated to begin a rehab assignment in the coming weeks, and he’s going to need a roster spot sooner than later as well.

This likely means that Urias and Pinango/Schneider (whoever remains) are battling for a roster spot moving forward, with the loser being optioned or DFA’d (in Urias case). Barger is an outfielder by trade now; however, he can play third base as needed when Kazuma Okamoto needs a day off. The Jays can also move Clement around as needed, with Schneider able to play second base as well, so there is no guarantee that Urias is around for the long haul.

The Jays will also likely have to cut Lenyn Sosa loose when he is healthy if they want to keep Urias around, unless the Jays decide to part with one of their outfielders in Straw, Nathan Lukes, or Jesus Sanchez, which seems less than likely.

Whatever the case may be, somebody is getting optioned in the near future when Urias arrives in town. Who that player will be is still to be determined, and the Jays have an open roster spot to add the former Diamondback without cutting anybody from the 40-man, but the lineup should look a bit different this week when Urias finally touches down in Toronto.