The Blue Jays enter the offseason with a rotation puzzle on their hands, and Spencer Miles has forced his way into the middle of it.
What began as a Rule 5 Draft gamble has turned into something much bigger. Miles opened the year with almost no MLB experience and had not pitched in 2025 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. By the end of his rookie season in 2026, he had done enough to make Toronto think seriously about a place for him in the 2027 rotation.
That is a remarkable turn for a pitcher who spent so much time rehabbing and came into spring training simply trying to win a major league job.
Toronto’s pitching situation leaves plenty of room for that conversation. Dylan Cease and Trey Yesavage are the key pieces in the current starting mix, but beyond them the picture gets cloudy fast.
Jose Berrios and Bowden Francis are both coming back from Tommy John surgery. Cody Ponce is expected to return, though he is still working his way back from a knee injury.
Shane Bieber and Max Scherzer are also headed toward free agency, with no guarantee either one comes back.
So yes, the Blue Jays still need to search the market for starting pitching. After the kind of season they had in 2026, that part is unavoidable.
But Miles has made sure Toronto can’t ignore what it already has, either.
The right-hander showed he could handle just about any role the club asked of him last season. He worked as a starter, an opener and a reliever, and that kind of flexibility mattered for a team that kept getting hit with injuries and constant lineup shuffling.
He wasn’t just filling innings, either. The Blue Jays trusted him in tough spots, which is a big leap for a pitcher they acquired from the San Francisco Giants in the Rule 5 Draft after he had never appeared in the majors and had logged fewer than 15 innings in affiliated minor league baseball.
That’s why this decision matters. Toronto now has to figure out whether Miles’ 2026 production can translate into the demands of a full-time starter. That means more innings, repeated looks through opposing orders and the simple question of whether his body can hold up.
There’s a real case for keeping him in the bullpen, where his value was clear. But there’s also an argument that his ceiling may be higher than that. At minimum, he has earned a chance to compete for a rotation job in spring training.
If he wins it, the Blue Jays may have found an inexpensive starter they can actually build around. If he doesn’t, they still have a useful arm in the bullpen.
Either way, Miles has done enough to make this a decision Toronto can’t gloss over.
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Blue Jays Have A Jake Bloss Question Worth Watching Closely
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Former Blue Jays Lefty Just Revived A Bullpen Question Toronto Knows Well
Tim Mayza is back in a familiar place, and for Blue Jays fans, it is a reminder of how often left-handed relief help can shape a bullpens identity. The Phillies have brought back the veteran lefty on a one-year contract, with the deal first reported by Matt Gelb citing league sources, after Mayza spent part of last season in Philadelphia following his long run in Toronto.
Mayzas recent work should look familiar to anyone who watched him in a Blue Jays uniform, where he carved out a steady role over several seasons before moving on. He posted a 3.48 ERA in 60 appearances last season, and his return to the Phillies adds another experienced arm to a bullpen that knows exactly what it is getting from him, even if the larger picture still leaves Torontos old question about left-handed depth hanging in the background. [Read more 🡒]