Let’s Watch the Blue Jays’ Pitchers Struggle on Defense

On Thursday, I wrote about the nine errors that the Blue Jays' pitchers have made in 2026. Instead of discussing the individual plays, I focused on the high total and how unusual it is – especially when errors, on the whole, have never been less frequent. 

Personally, I'm a glutton for statistical oddities. I love to research obscure major league records, and I love to figure out how many records a team or player might break if they continue at their current pace, even if I know there's no chance that pace will continue. 

Yet, I know that most people watch baseball for, you know, the actual baseball. So, I figured you might like to see the individual defensive misplays that I wrote about in the aggregate. Here are all nine errors the Blue Jays' pitchers have made in 2026, along with a little bit of my commentary. 

Error No. 1: Worst Is First - Cody Ponce, March 30

Oftentimes, errors are annoying in the moment and funny in retrospect. This one just sucked. Cody Ponce suffered a season-ending ACL sprain on this play. Let's move on. 

Error No. 2: Should've Had Him - Tommy Nance, April 1

This one was impossible to find a good clip of online, but it's definitely worth watching, so I GIF'd it. (Apologies for the quality. It's a little better at this link.) The biggest mistake here is that the Blue Jays let Troy Johnston get as far as he did toward second base before they reacted, but Tommy Nance still had plenty of time to make a better throw on this play. Even Johnston thought they had him at first; he almost stopped to run back to first before he realized Andrés Giménez didn't have a good handle on the ball. 

Error No. 3: That's Why You Keep Your Eye on the Ball - Dylan Cease, April 3

You know how I said errors can be funny in hindsight? This is what I'm talking about. At the time, it was frustrating. It was even more frustrating a few days later. If Dylan Cease had just caught that ball, maybe the Blue Jays wouldn't have suffered an embarrassing sweep at the hands of the White Sox. Yet, you have to admit it's funny to watch Cease swat the ball away, step on first base anyway, and then look at his glove as if he can't believe isn't in there.

Error No. 4: Fleming's Best Pitch? - Josh Fleming, April 6

Josh Fleming made one appearance for Toronto this year. Half of the 18 batters he faced reached base, and four came around to score. It wasn't great. That's why it isn't that much of an exaggeration to call this his best pitch of the season. The only problem? It wasn't a pitch. It was a throw to first base. Fleming absolutely let loose on this one and sent it hurtling past first base. All Vladimir Guerrero Jr. could do was get out of the way and watch it sail to the wall.

Error No. 5: Calling Canada's Funniest Home Videos - Kevin Gausman, April 7

You can watch the rest of the errors if you want, but this is the best one. Hands down. No contest. I could watch this again, and again, and again. (And I already have.) I only wish I had the filmmaking skills to add in a "boi-oi-oing" sound effect as Kevin Gausman's throw ricochets off of Alex Freeland's helmet.

Errors No. 6-8: Ernie Clement Stares Into Center Field, Episodes I, II, III

• Braydon Fisher, April 17
• Braydon Fisher, April 22
• Dylan Cease, April 27

Toronto's next three pitcher errors were all botched pickoff attempts at second base, so I've combined them into one highlight reel. None of the clips does a great job of capturing the errors, but all of them show an exasperated Ernie Clement watching the ball roll to the center fielder.

Error No. 9: At Least He Didn't Hit Anyone in the head - Kevin Gausman, May 5

After bobbling this one twice, Gausman had no choice but to eat the ball and let the Rays load the bases. Is it possible that the Blue Jays would have won this game if Gausman had made the play? Sure. But at least he didn't throw it straight into Cedric Mullins's helmet. Let's watch that one again, shall we?