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Exploring the Blue Jays roster implications of Yesavage, Bieber, and Berríos landing on the IL
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Photo credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports
Ben Wrixon
Mar 20, 2026, 16:00 EDTUpdated: Mar 20, 2026, 12:20 EDT
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Just a few weeks ago, the Toronto Blue Jays seemingly had too many starting pitchers. They had a complicated situation on their hands with seven arms competing for five spots in their rotation—two injuries have now made things much simpler. 
Shane Bieber is starting the year on the IL due to arm fatigue, and the team announced earlier this week that Jose Berríos will start the season on the injured list with a stress fracture in his elbow. The organization followed that up on Thursday by announcing Trey Yesavage will also be sidelined with a shoulder impingement. 
While everyone involved has downplayed the severity of these injuries, these IL stints will have meaningful roster implications. 
On the active roster, the Opening Day starting rotation appears pretty much set: Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce, Max Scherzer, and Eric Lauer. It’s a solid group, albeit with some question marks. 
The big winner here is Lauer, who initially looked as if he would be relegated to a long-man role out of the bullpen despite his stated preference for starting. Now he gets to open the season in the rotation with free agency looming next offseason. It won’t be easy to take him out if he’s pitching great once Berríos and Yesavage get healthy. 
The next big winner is whichever relief pitcher cracks the Opening Day roster that wouldn’t have otherwise. 
The two Rule 5 guys—Angel Bastardo and Spencer Miles—are both possibilities. They’re both projects with intriguing stuff who have impressed this spring. The Blue Jays could keep one of them to see how they fare against some of the weaker competition they’ll play during the first few weeks of the season. 
Chase Lee or Connor Seabold could end up being the choice if they opt to go the more established route. Lee has impressed through Spring Training thus far, while Seabold could serve as the bullpen’s multi-inning arm with Lauer no longer in that role. However, the ceiling is lower with either of these guys, given their unimpressive MLB track records. 
The Blue Jays opting to roster another position player isn’t out of the question, albeit a more unlikely option. This team needs another arm more than it needs Eloy Jiménez or Josh Kasevich right now, even with how great they have been during spring training. 
As far as long-term roster implications are concerned, the biggest loser of all this is probably Berríos. He had so much to prove coming into this year, and now could end up on the outside looking in if Yesavage and/or Shane Bieber are healthy when he eventually returns. His pathway back into the starting rotation is extremely murky. 
Ultimately, what appeared to be a complicated situation on paper has seemingly sorted itself out in the short-term. Baseball has a way of doing that. It’s now on the next men up to make the most of their opportunities. 

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