JEFF HOFFMAN STRIKES OUT THE SIDE AND WE GO TO THE BOTTOM OF THE NINTH TIED AT ONE! 🎥 Sportsnet | #Bluejays
The Blue Jays risk overworking their bullpen early in the season
Photo credit: © John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
By Ben Wrixon
Apr 2, 2026, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 2, 2026, 09:10 EDT
The Toronto Blue Jays have only played six games so far this season, yet they’re already churned through more pitchers than expected.
The team’s bullpen struggled mightily last year when overused, a situation that arose due to injured and ineffective starting pitching. The 2026 squad doesn’t seem to have the latter issue, but it certainly has the former—are they running the risk of over-taxing their arms?
The injuries have been unfortunate as the team appeared to have eight starting pitchers on paper before Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber, and Jose Berríos all landed on the injured list before the season started. Cody Ponce has since joined them after being carted off the field with a sprained ACL in his much-anticipated Blue Jays debut on Monday night against the Colorado Rockies.
That game, an embarrassing 14-5 loss, required the bullpen to cover 7 2/3 innings. There’s something wrong any time Louis Varland is pitching in the third inning, and in this instance, it was an emergency with Ponce being taken out of the game due to injury and no dedicated long man in the bullpen with Eric Lauer in the rotation. Spencer Miles was also over-extended, throwing 47 pitches out of necessity. It could have been even worse were it not for Tyler Heineman mopping up the final two innings.
Wednesday’s 2-1 loss in extra innings against those same Rockies saw Jeff Hoffman, Mason Fluharty, and Tyler Rogers all pitch for the fourth time this year already. The core relievers have been extremely busy thus far, and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon with a bullpen game looming the next time Ponce’s turn in the rotation comes up. As it stands, the Jays rank tied for fifth in the league with 26 innings pitched for the bullpen, with San Diego leading the charge with 28 innings.
The team does have some starting options available in the minor leagues, and they called up Lazaro Estrada to give the club some insurance in that regard, but it’s a risky move given the lack of experience in Triple-A. Adam Macko and CJ Van Eyk are additional depth arms the Jays could call on as well, and both have their own pros and cons.
Further exacerbating the issue is Brendon Little’s ineffectiveness. He allowed the ghost runner to score in Wednesday’s game and ultimately took the loss. He gave up seven earned runs combined across his previous two outings, failing to record three outs in either of those appearances. He’s nowhere near the best version of himself right now—he can’t be trusted in a close game.
So, barring a mop-up situation, the Blue Jays are down to seven relievers and four starting pitchers. It’s hardly what the front office envisioned when assembling its staff.
Ponce is expected to miss serious time, but the good news is that Berríos and Yesavage aren’t too far away. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Berríos back within a few weeks, and surviving until then should be made easier by the off days on the schedule. Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Eric Lauer, and the immortal Max Scherzer should be able to hold down the fort until reinforcements arrive. Still, it’s easy to worry about the arms in the bullpen after what we saw last season. Jeff Hoffman, in particular, looked worn down at times in 2025 as his fastball velocity dipped.
The Blue Jays will need to be careful with how they manage him, especially while they’re short-staffed. The same applies to Varland, Fluharty, and co. The bigger picture has to remain in focus.
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