The Toronto Blue Jays cannot shake the injury bug heading into the 2026 season.

On the position player side, Anthony Santander, the major signing from the 2024/2025 offseason, will miss roughly five to six months as he battles back from a shoulder injury. He’s the main casualty from the field, while the rest of the club seems to be in good spirits and health heading into the new season.

The pitching side is a different story.

It started with Bowden Francis, who underwent elbow surgery and will be on the IL for the remainder of the season. Then it was Shane Bieber, who was ramping up late with arm fatigue and is slated to start on the IL as well. Then came Ricky Tiedemann, Jose Berrios, and now Trey Yesavage, who is dealing with a shoulder impingement after an impressive 2025 season.

Toronto’s pitching corps has been thrown a few curveballs, which is why the Jays front office leaned heavily into the free agent pool of pitchers this winter in Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce, and their latest addition, Max Scherzer. Without them and the steady arm of Kevin Gausman, this rotation would be in complete dire straits.

Also coming in to help rescue the rotation is Eric Lauer, who will have to find his superhero cape once again after an impressive 2025 season.

Lauer signed with the Jays on a MiLB deal last season, and after a few outings in Buffalo to start the year, the Jays called him up to the big leagues and leaned heavily on him throughout the season. He was the ultimate swingman, making a few relief outings before the Jays needed him in the rotation, where he ended up making 15 starts. The addition of Bieber and the emergence of Yesavage post-trade deadline saw Lauer have to return to the relief corps, where he continued to be a steady hand.

Across both roles, the southpaw authored a 3.18 ERA and a 3.85 FIP across 104 2/3 innings, seeing a positive spin on his walk rate to a career low 2.2 BB/9 and keeping opposing hitters off balance to the tune of a .227 average and a .684 OPS. It was just what the doctor ordered for a Jays squad that needed a steady hand in the rotation last season, and it was one of the main reasons Lauer was looking to make the jump back to being a full-time starter in what is shaping up to be a contract year for the 30-year-old.

The additions of Cease, Ponce, and Scherzer put that starting role in jeopardy, with it appearing that Lauer was going to be heading back to the bullpen to be the club’s go-to long man and middle relief left-hander when manager John Schneider needed him. With the injuries mounting for the rotation, it seems like a lock that Lauer will be heading to the back end of the rotation for Opening Day. Lauer is coming in to help save the day once again.

The Jays’ starting depth is not as potent compared to other teams at the moment, especially with Tiedemann not firing on all cylinders. The next prospect in line is Adam Macko, who is having an impressive spring both in Dunedin and with Team Canada, and Grant Rogers, who is maximizing this Spring Training to showcase his talents in front of the Jays’ coaching staff. The Jays have some interesting names further down the pipeline – Gage Stanifer, Johnny King, and Silvano Hechavarria – but they are not ready for the big leagues heading into the 2026 season. A healthy Jake Bloss would also be a difference maker; however, he is still working his way back from Tommy John surgery last season.

That leaves Eric Lauer to come in and be the go-to guy at the back end of the rotation once again, coming in to bring some balance alongside a Jays pitching staff that needs to find a way to stay healthy. Lauer gets his wish to start again, even if it may be for a short period of time before the reinforcements arrive, but a strong showing to kick off the 2026 season will make the decision more difficult for the Jays brass and keep padding his stats for the upcoming offseason.

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