With the addition of Dylan Cease, the Blue Jays now boast one of the game’s best rotations.

The free agent addition will join Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber, and presumably Jose Berrios – all right-handers – to round out the unit. While having all righties in their rotation isn’t incredibly uncommon, it remains to be seen how much of an impact it may have on the club.

Over the last decade, the Blue Jays have had a left-hander make at least 10 starts in all but one campaign (2024). While Eric Lauer’s 15 starts paced Blue Jays southpaws last year, he wasn’t expected to contribute at the beginning of the season. Barring a trade, that means that 2026 will be the third straight year in which the Blue Jays enter the year with all right-handers in their rotation.

Although it’s still possible that Lauer is needed in the rotation this season, the Jays have a couple of other southpaw starters who may contribute at some point or another. Ricky Tiedemann was once the team’s top prospect (now seventh, per Blue Jays Nation), but figures to finally be ready to contribute as he gets further away from injuries that have slowed him down in recent years. Adam Macko is another guy coming off an injury that could be ready at some point this year, but the Jays would likely want to see him thrive in Triple-A first.

Having all right-handed starters puts some extra emphasis on having strong lefties in the bullpen, an area that could stand to improve entering next season.

Lauer appears headed for a long relief role, with Mason Fluharty, Brendon Little, and Justin Bruihl listed as the only other options on the 40-man roster. Fluharty had a strong rookie season and postseason performance, but Little couldn’t build on a strong regular season as he fell out of John Schneider’s circle of trust after a couple of tough playoff appearances. Bruihl is no guarantee to be back, increasing the likelihood that the Jays sign or trade for a left-handed reliever.

Some of the best options available on the market that could help the bullpen are veterans Caleb Thielbar, Gregory Soto, and Danny Coulombe. Having several left-handers that Schneider can have confidence in will be important throughout the season, but much more so come playoff time. With the addition of Cease, it’s clear that the Blue Jays envision themselves as World Series contenders again and should be making moves with that in mind.

We saw last year that when elimination games are being played, it’s all hands on deck for the Blue Jays’ pitching staff. Having the option of using a lefty starter in a big spot against an opponent’s big left-handed bats can be a benefit late in games. The best-case scenario for Toronto would probably be Tiedemann emerging as a bona fide rotation option this season. This would then allow him to transition to more of a bullpen role come playoff time.

No left-handed starter probably won’t be a big deal in the regular season, but the Jays will likely re-evaluate their roster construction come midseason. A deadline deal for a left-handed reliever would probably be the most likely outcome if they aren’t getting the production out of their current lefties.

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