The Blue Jays’ 2026 pitching staff was built on survival. Toronto leaned on a franchise-record number of arms, and the injuries piled up anyway. Even so, the group held together well enough to keep the season from unraveling, with several pitchers stepping into larger roles than anyone probably expected.
At the top of the pile was Louis Varland, who put together what might have been the best season ever by a Blue Jays reliever. He finished 35-for-37 in save chances and did it while flattening hitters. That kind of dominance earns the biggest grade on the page: A+.
Spencer Miles joined him in elite territory. The Rule 5 pick posted a 2.63 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 93 strikeouts and 95.2 innings, and there was nothing lucky about it. His high-90s sinker looks like a weapon that could stick for a long time, which is why he also landed an A+.
Mason Fluharty deserves a huge slice of the credit for simply taking the ball. He led MLB with 83 appearances and, more impressively, got better as the year went on instead of fading. His 3.80 ERA and 65 strikeouts over 62.2 innings were good enough for a B+.
Paul Sewald was another useful find after arriving with modest expectations. He gave Toronto solid innings when the staff was running on fumes and kept doing what he does best by limiting baserunners. That was worth a B+ as well.
Braydon Fisher’s season was more about volume and versatility than polish. He logged 75.2 innings with a 3.21 ERA and 74 strikeouts, working everything from opener duties to high-leverage spots.
The results were uneven at times, but he still looks like a bullpen building block. Grade: B.
Brendan Celluci made the most of a tiny sample, flashing in his MLB debut against the Detroit Tigers after a rough minor league year. He then helped soak up innings in late September when the Blue Jays were short on healthy arms. His line: 0.00 ERA, 0.58 WHIP and a B.
Joe Mantiply was effective before injury took him out for months. He returned from the IL, but he wasn’t the same pitcher and eventually got designated for assignment in September. He finished with a 3.00 ERA in 27 innings and a B-.
Jose Soriano came at a steep price, with the Blue Jays sending Arjun Nimmala to the Los Angeles Angels at the deadline. His overall numbers were solid - 3.91 ERA, 169 strikeouts in 177.1 innings - but the 5.30 ERA in 10 starts after the trade kept the grade down to a C-.
Brendon Little’s year started badly enough to send him to Triple-A Buffalo in April. He came back and settled in some, with the strikeout ability still obvious, but the rough beginning lingered. His final line produced a C-.
Trey Yesavage showed pieces of the pitcher who burst onto the scene last October, but the follow-up wasn’t clean. Command was the issue, especially with a 11.7% walk rate, and that kept him from pushing higher than a C+ despite 97 strikeouts in 97.2 innings.
Tyler Rogers was also a strong fit in Toronto, maybe even better than he had ever been. His weird arm slot and ground-ball style kept American League hitters guessing, and he allowed just two home runs all season.
Dylan Cease was the headliner, and he delivered like one. In his first year with the Blue Jays, he posted a 2.40 ERA, struck out 239 hitters in 169 innings and carried a legitimate Cy Young case before a shoulder injury ended his season early. That kind of impact earns an A.
Max Scherzer’s season played out like a classic rollercoaster. He was hurt or ineffective for much of the first half, then settled in as a reliable contributor down the stretch and finished with an epic final start. Grade: C.
Shane Bieber’s 2026 never got off the ground the way Toronto wanted. He spent the first half on the injured list, came back, then got hurt again just as he was starting to find form. That nightmare season ended with a D.
Spencer Arrighetti struggled badly after becoming a Blue Jay. He posted a 4.96 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over 110.2 innings, but too often he couldn’t give the team the kind of innings it needed. That led to a D-.
And then there was Brendon Little’s counterpart in the rough-start department, plus the injuries that kept chewing through the staff all year. For all the chaos, Toronto still got meaningful innings from a long list of pitchers - and a few of them were excellent.
In Other News...
Blue Jays Report Card Puts One 2026 Failure Front And Center
The Blue Jays 2026 season review was not gentle, and the harshest mark landed on the one area that never quite found its footing all year: the offense. Hitting coach David Popkins was handed an F in the report card, a reflection of how uneven Torontos attack looked over the course of the season, even as the clubs broader leadership drew more favorable evaluations.
There was more balance in the rest of the grades. Manager John Schneider earned a B for steering a difficult roster through the year, while president and CEO Mark Shapiro received an A for the organizations larger improvements. The front office also came out well in the review, with offseason additions and trade deadline moves singled out as positives, but the offensive mess remains the most glaring issue hanging over the team heading into what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Could Be Saying Goodbye To Several Familiar Names
The Blue Jays are heading into a stretch where the roster may start to look very different from the one fans have come to know. Several veteran arms who were brought in to help bridge the gap toward contention have run into the same familiar issues teams worry about this time of year: age, health, and uneven performance. For a club trying to stay competitive while also keeping one eye on the future, that usually means some uncomfortable decisions are coming.
By the time the 2027 season arrives, Toronto could be leaning on a much younger and healthier mix on the pitching side. Max Scherzer, Paul Sewald, Shane Bieber, Jameson Taillon and Yimi Garcia are among the familiar names whose time with the Blue Jays is expected to wind down, leaving the front office with the task of retooling without losing momentum. It is the kind of roster turnover that can reshape a bullpen and rotation quickly, and for Blue Jays fans it may mean seeing several recent additions become part of the past sooner than expected. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Teammates May Already Have The Perfect Scherzer Nickname
Max Scherzers arrival in Toronto has already given the Blue Jays one more veteran presence to lean on, and now it may have given the clubhouse a little extra personality too. During a recent game, catcher Brandon Valenzuela appeared to be wearing a wristband with Pee Paw visible, a nickname that has started to circulate among fans this season and fits the way Scherzer stands out as one of the oldest players in Major League Baseball.
For a Blue Jays team that finished 79-83 and missed the playoffs, the lighter moments have taken on a little more meaning in the seasons final stretch. With end-of-season media availabilities coming soon, the Scherzer story is one of the few remaining curiosities around the team, and it suggests the veteran right-hander may already have a label that has stuck inside the room, even if the full story behind it is still unfolding. [Read more 🡒]