The Blue Jays don’t need a total overhaul on the mound, but they do need more arms. After a 2026 season that saw Toronto tumble from AL pennant winners to the bottom of the division, the front office is staring at a simple reality: the rotation cannot be left thin again.
That lesson hit early last year. Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber, and Jose Berrios all started 2026 on the injured list, and the rotation never really got a clean runway.
Now the offseason picture is even more complicated. Berrios will begin 2027 on the IL, Max Scherzer may retire, Kevin Gausman is gone, and Bieber’s contract is up.
Dylan Cease remains the headliner, but Toronto needs help around him.
If the Blue Jays want a true top-of-the-rotation partner for Cease, Tarik Skubal is the dream name. The back-to-back Cy Young Award winner would instantly raise the ceiling of the staff.
The problem is the price tag. Ross Atkins should pursue him if the cost somehow stays manageable, but that is not the expectation, which makes Skubal a long shot for Toronto.
That leaves the more realistic options, and Tyler Mahle stands out as the strongest fit behind Skubal. Mahle looks like the kind of starter who could slide into the middle of the rotation and stabilize things quickly.
After the trade deadline, he posted a 1.99 ERA with the Atlanta Braves, then followed it up in the postseason by allowing opponents to hit just .184 across two starts while working to a 1.35 ERA. He is exactly the kind of arm that will draw plenty of attention, but he should still come in far cheaper than Skubal.
Further down the list are Casey Mize, Kevin Gausman, and Shane Bieber. Any of them would give Toronto needed depth, though none would likely slot ahead of Cease, Yesavage, Soriano, and maybe even Cody Ponce. Gausman and Bieber are familiar names, so Mize is the one with the most uncertainty attached to him.
Still, Mize brings real production to the table. With the Detroit Tigers in 2026, he made 16 starts and put up a 2.70 ERA with a WHIP below 1.00. The rough deadline stint with the San Diego Padres complicates the picture, but Toronto’s coaching staff would have a chance to help him finish the job if they brought him in.
However it plays out, the Blue Jays have to add arms. Injuries can wreck a season in a hurry, and Toronto already lived through that lesson once. Without more reinforcements, the rotation is simply too vulnerable to trust.
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Cole Carlon, though, remains the draft pick everyone is still waiting to see. Toronto took him at the top of the class, but he never appeared in a game after the draft, leaving his introduction to pro baseball for later on the timeline as the Blue Jays continue to sort through a crop of young talent that is already starting to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
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Toronto has spent enough time leaning on experienced talent to know how quickly those choices can reshape a roster, and this market could test how much interest there is in bringing some of those players back. The possibilities stretch well beyond Springer, with Jose Berrios, Max Scherzer, Shane Bieber and others all part of the uncertainty, leaving the Jays to weigh whether any of these veterans fit into the next step or whether they will be moving on to chase new deals elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Fans Will Hate How This World Series Collapse Unfolded
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The parallel is hard to miss for Toronto supporters, who saw a championship path slip away in painfully similar fashion last year. The Brewers still get another shot to finish the job, which is the part Blue Jays fans will notice most, since Toronto did not have that luxury after its own Game 7 heartbreak. [Read more 🡒]