Blue Jays’ rotation plans coming into focus ahead of Opening Day
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Photo credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Thomas Hall
Mar 16, 2026, 21:00 EDTUpdated: Mar 16, 2026, 20:56 EDT
The Toronto Blue Jays’ starting rotation is beginning to come into focus with Opening Day just over a week away.
We already know it’ll be Kevin Gausman taking the ball for this team against the Athletics on Mar. 27. While the organization hasn’t officially announced who’ll follow the 35-year-old hurler — making his first career Opening Day start as a Blue Jay — we certainly have enough to start connecting the dots.
The Blue Jays have confirmed which pitchers will start during their next two Grapefruit League games following Tuesday’s off-day, as MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson relayed, with left-hander Josh Fleming starting Wednesday (Orioles) and right-hander Cody Ponce following him on Thursday (Yankees). Both games will take place in Dunedin, Fla., at TD Ballpark.
Based on the current alignment of Toronto’s rotation, that would leave Max Scherzer in line to make one of his final two outings of the spring on Friday, either in Fort Myers versus the Minnesota Twins or in a minor-league game at the player development complex.
That’s relevant because Gausman, who threw 70 pitches across five innings in Sunday’s minor-league game against Philadelphia Phillies hitters, would be next up to pitch this Saturday versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. He’ll need to pitch on that day to keep him on schedule for his long-awaited Opening Day start during the following week.
Considering Cease pitched in a minor-league game on Monday, logging five innings at the club’s PDC, chances are he’ll make his final exhibition start against the Tampa Bay Rays during this Sunday’s Grapefruit League finale. Thus, if he exits that outing healthy, he’d be on track to follow Gausman in the rotation and make his first non-spring training start as a Blue Jay on Mar. 28 versus the A’s.
After those two, however, there are still more questions than answers.
The biggest, of course, lies with José Berríos. He’s scheduled to meet with specialist Dr. Keith Meister in Texas on Tuesday for a second opinion on his right elbow inflammation. If the 31-year-old misses any additional time from here, he’d presumably begin this season on the injured list — alongside Shane Bieber (forearm) — as he wouldn’t have enough time to build back up before Opening Day.
It’s also unclear where Trey Yesavage, who completed another 35-pitch session in Monday’s minor-league game, will slot in. He’ll be aiming to work up to three innings his next time out, although it hasn’t been determined whether that’ll be in a Grapefruit League game — possibly Sunday’s finale against the Rays — or in another minor-league game.
In any case, Yesavage’s rotation spot could follow Gausman and Cease, keeping him on track with his current starter’s schedule. At the moment, that would likely see Ponce and Scherzer round out Toronto’s staff, which could either feature five or six starters, depending on Berríos’ status.