Ranking the 5 most important injured Blue Jays who’ve missed most of the season
Photo credit: © Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
By Ben Wrixon
Jun 2, 2026, 14:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 2, 2026, 11:04 EDT
The 2026 Toronto Blue Jays have been ravaged by injuries. Starting pitchers, relievers, position players—no segment of the team has had a clean bill of health.
As it stands, the Blue Jays have 14 players on the injured list. The weight of certain absences has been heavier than others. There are also a handful of players who either out for the season or out for the majority of it, such as José Berríos, Cody Ponce, Bowden Francis and Anthony Santander.
Lenyn Sosa, Dylan Cease, Tommy Nance, and Joe Mantiply were all played on the injured list in the second half of May, but their stint may be minimal (Cease), could be DFA’d upon return (Sosa), or are a low-leverage reliever (Mantiply, Nance). Additionally, Lázaro Estrada has begun his rehab assignment, but doesn’t figure to be heavily involved in the Blue Jays’ big league players.
Here’s how the other five players rank in terms of importance.
5. Max Scherzer
The Blue Jays desperately need a starting pitcher right now—more on that later—but Max Scherzer still ranks last of the five because of how poorly he performed when healthy.
The future Hall of Famer gave up 20 earned runs in just 18.2 innings before succumbing to multiple nagging injuries. He gave up seven home runs in that disastrous sample while striking out just 10 batters and was a total shell of his former self.
Toronto needs him on principle, but will he actually pitch well enough to be playable? It’s fair to doubt what he has left in the tank even after the recent time off.
4. Addison Barger
The offensive struggles of the 2026 Blue Jays are well-documented. Getting Addison Barger back will be a much-needed boost.
Still, he ranks fourth due to the emergence of Jesús Sánchez and Yohendrick Piñango. Those two, combined with Nathan Lukes and Daulton Varsho, give the team four left-handed hitting outfielders before factoring Barger into the equation.
Navigating this logjam will be tricky, and it looks like Piñango is once again the odd man out. That said, Barger’s return will make the Blue Jays better, especially if he can return to his 2025 form. But one of those players ending up on the bench as the trade-off is unfortunate.
3. Alejandro Kirk
Kirk would have been number one on this list had it been created in early April. However, Brandon Valenzuela has performed well in his absence both offensively and defensively.
The Blue Jays have actually missed Kirk more in the lineup than in the field. Valenzuela has been rock-solid behind the dish aside from a few rookie mistakes, while Tyler Heineman fared much better in May as well. The issue is neither of them hit like Kirk.
This team is sorely missing a quality right-handed bat in the middle of its lineup, and that’s exactly what Kirk provides. His return will help the offence immensely, especially against southpaws.
2. Yimi García
The Blue Jays’ bullpen is extremely taxed, and that’s a recipe for disaster—case in point being Jeff Hoffman’s latest meltdown.
He, Louis Varland, Tyler Rogers, Mason Fluharty, and Braydon Fisher all rank among the league leaders in appearances at this point in the season. The way they’ve been used so far is downright unsustainable and could have long-term repercussions.
Getting García back is hugely important. He’ll be able to handle some of the high-leverage innings that have gone to Hoffman while also easing everyone else’s workload.
1. Shane Bieber
The reason the Blue Jays are using their bullpen so much is that they have only three healthy starting pitchers. Bieber’s return can’t come soon enough.
The Blue Jays need him to come back and give them six quality innings every fifth day. He did exactly that down the stretch last season, even without the elite strikeout stuff he had earlier in his career.
Not only will Bieber help the Blue Jays win games as a pitcher, but his return will also bolster the bullpen by allowing Spencer Miles to return to a traditional relief role. Getting Cease back as well will finally give the Blue Jays a five-man rotation.
Breaking News
- Ranking the 5 most important injured Blue Jays who’ve missed most of the season
- The Blue Jays’ bullpen is doing yeoman’s work this season
- Looking at Bo Bichette’s performance with the Mets two months into the 2026 season
- Blue Jays prospect Dylan Watts named FSL Pitcher of the Week
- Blue Jays: Yohendrick Piñango is once again the odd man out when Addison Barger returns