Leo Morgenstern

At one point in the 2024-25 offseason, it seemed like the Texas Rangers had more starting pitching than they could possibly know what to do with. There were even rumors that Jon Gray, a 10-year veteran with more than 200 starts to his name, could move to the bullpen. Yet, just 10 days before the start of the regular season, the Rangers’ depth had dwindled. In need of innings, they signed Patrick Corbin to a one-year, $1.1 million deal (with incentives) and sent him to the minors to ramp up. By early April, he was part of their big league rotation. Sound familiar? Once again, Corbin has signed a late one-year deal with incentives to join a rotation that wasn’t supposed to need him, until it did. He made one ramp-up start for Single-A Dunedin, striking out nine in five innings. Tonight, he will make his Blue Jays debut, slotting in for Toronto in place of the injured Cody Ponce. The Jays are still hoping they won’t need him for long – Trey Yesavage, José Berríos, and Shane Bieber are all working their way back – but if last year continues to be any indication, well… Corbin was one of just over 50 pitchers to start 30 games in 2025. That’s less than two per team. He wasn’t even on the Rangers’ Opening Day roster, but, by season’s end, no one had started more games for Texas. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays needed 12 different starters to get through the regular season (depending on who you define as an opener). Point being, starters get hurt. A lot. So, the ones who don’t are going to get to pitch as much as they can. It’s been a long time since Corbin was the frontline arm who helped lead the Washington Nationals to a World Series title in 2019. Nonetheless, he has remained one of baseball’s most hard-wearing starters. At a time when pitcher injuries are unremitting, and change is the only constant of a major league staff, Corbin offers a skill set that every team needs: the capacity to make 30-plus starts and pitch 150-plus MLB-calibre innings, year in and year out. He hasn’t suffered an injury since he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014. Indeed, over the last 10 years (dating back to the start of the 2016 season), Patrick Corbin has started more games than any other pitcher in the majors. He’s six starts ahead of Kevin Gausman in second place. Corbin also ranks third among active pitchers in career starts and fourth in innings. He trails Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and Jose Quintana in the former, and Verlander, Scherzer, Quintana, and Chris Sale in the latter. As you might have guessed, Gausman also ranks quite highly on those lists. So, with Verlander and Quintana on the injured list right now, the current Blue Jays rotation features three of the top four active active pitchers in both starts and innings pitched. For the most part, I’m only sharing that as a fun fact. But it’s a fun fact that draws attention to Corbin’s identity in the game today. Whatever else you think of him, the man can pitch – in the most literal sense of the word. Unfortunately for Corbin, his skill set is one that every team needs, but no team wants to need it. Since 2020, he owns a 5.41 ERA and a 4.80 FIP. Not once, not twice, but three times he has ranked last among qualified NL pitchers in ERA. That’s not to say he brings no value. After all, ranking last among qualified pitchers isn’t really ranking last. A qualified season – that’s 162 innings – is an accomplishment in and of itself. What’s more, Corbin has remained above replacement level in every year of his career, according to FanGraphs. And on top of that, there is absolutely unmeasurable value in consistency and bulk. Yet, the problem for a player like Corbin, at least at the outset of the season, is that contending teams want to give their innings to better pitchers. Rebuilding teams want to give their innings to younger arms. Most teams will end up giving 150-plus innings to a combination of pitchers worse than Corbin, but that’s never plan A. Of course, the 2026 Blue Jays are well past plan A. Thankfully, by the time they knew they needed him, Corbin was still available. He may not have as high a ceiling as any of the first eight pitchers on Toronto’s starting pitching depth chart, but there are worse things than having one of the most available pitchers in baseball available for your team every five days. The Rangers discovered that in 2025. Hopefully, the Blue Jays will have the same experience. View full article

Davis Schneider had a keen eye on Wednesday. A successful ABS challenge helped him draw a walk in the seventh. He later came around to score the Blue Jays' second run on a George Springer double. It was only Springer's third hit with runners on base all season, though, funnily enough, all three have been doubles. Schneider walked again in the eighth, and Andrés Giménez moved him to third with a single. Two pitches later, Giménez took off for second, Will Smith and Miguel Rojas biffed the play, and Schneider read the situation perfectly. He came scrambling home to score what would be the winning run. The Blue Jays' player of the game only entered in the bottom of the seventh, pinch-hitting for Nathan Lukes. He took two trips to the plate, drew two walks, and scored two runs. He also avoided two drenchings before he finally let Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Myles Straw tip the ceremonial water cooler over his head. In a delightful post-game moment, Schneider caught his teammates approaching him and jumped back before returning to his interview. He thought he was safe. But of course, Guerrero and Straw weren't going to give up that easily. As they lifted the cooler for a second time, Schneider jumped away again. Like I said, he had a keen eye that day. But of course, Schneider, Guerrero, and Straw all knew what the fans wanted. What they needed. The crowd at the Rogers Centre booed (in good fun), Guerrero egged them on, and eventually, Schneider accepted his fate. As the ice water cascaded down his shoulders, the catharsis was tangible. The Blue Jays opened the season 3-1. Their batters hit eight home runs in four games. Their pitchers struck out 66 opponents. Then the calendar turned to April. The Rockies beat them in extras. Then the White Sox beat them in extras. Both those teams lost more than 100 games in 2025. One sweep at the hands of the White Sox later, the Jays came home for a highly anticipated rematch with the Dodgers. Yet, many of the same fans who fought tooth and nail to secure tickets to that contest were leaving before it was over. The Blue Jays fell 14-2. Their only pitcher who didn't give up a run was Tyler Heineman. The next defeat wasn't quite so bad, but morale dipped even lower. On the anniversary of the first game in franchise history, Toronto lost 4-1. As the crowd devoured more than 100,000 77-cent hot dogs, the Blue Jays extended their losing streak to six – their longest since June 2024. As if the losses in the box score weren't enough, the team also lost Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger to injuries during this stretch. They confirmed that Cody Ponce will go for surgery on his ACL, likely ending his season. They assured us that Max Scherzer will be fine, despite the forearm tendinitis that forced his early exit on Monday. Still, I couldn't help but feel as if we were merely waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was a long first week of April. If you're a cooler half-full kind of person, I hope Schneider's soaking washed away seven days of Blue Jays-branded anxiety. Yes, the last week was bad, but the Jays are only two games below .500 with 150 left to play. The 2026 season is still their oyster. If you're more of the cooler half-empty type, well, I hope yesterday was at least a refreshing change of pace. It certainly was for Davis Schneider. Schneider showed off his keen eye for balls and strikes on Wednesday. He showed an equally keen sense for fast-approaching ice-cold post-game celebrations. God willing, he's just as skilled at seeing his own team's future. As he told Hazel Mae in his on-field interview, the Blue Jays are "never out of it." Let's hope he's right. View full article

According to reporter Francys Romero, the Toronto Blue Jays recently signed Tomoya Kinjo, an international amateur free agent from Japan. The right-hander trained in the Dominican Republic and previously played in the Shikoku Island League Plus, an independent professional league in Japan. At 23 years old, Kinjo is on the older side for an international amateur signing, but Romero notes he reaches 98 mph on his fastball – that's eye-catching at any age. Indeed, according to Yakyu Cosmopolitan, Kinjo has set a goal to reach 165 kmh (103 mph), and he's documenting his progress on social media. He has already hit the 100 mph milestone in this endeavor. Obviously, there's more to pitching than velocity, but the appeal of an amateur who can already hit triple digits is just as clear. Yakyu Cosmopolitan also notes that Kinjo entered the NPB draft in both 2024 and '25 but was not selected in either year. In other words, he's not going to be a top prospect – at least not right away (and maybe not ever). He's a notable lottery ticket, but he's still a lottery ticket. Kinjo joins many new Blue Jays prospects in the international class of 2026, highlighted by catcher Juan Caricote and outfielders Michael Mesa and Aneudi Severino. Romero did not provide details about Kinjo's signing bonus. View full rumor

There has been a lot of Toronto Blue Jays news over the past couple of days, so instead of writing separate notes for each item, I decided to combine them all in one piece. Here's what's been going on with the Blue Jays lately (besides the fact that they've lost five straight). Max Scherzer Exits With Forearm Tendinitis Max Scherzer left his second start of the season on Monday after just two innings. He had only thrown 36 pitches, but his velocity was down, and his stuff looked notably worse than it did in his outing against the Rockies. The 41-year-old was later revealed to be dealing with forearm tendinitis. Thankfully, the Jays don't seem overly concerned about Scherzer right now. Indeed, a short outing was supposedly always the plan; the veteran first felt discomfort following his start against Colorado. He is not expected to miss his next turn in the rotation. That's great news for a Blue Jays team that is running dangerously low on healthy starting pitching. IL Stint a Possibility for Addison Barger Right fielder Addison Barger sat out Toronto's first game against the Dodgers last night after injuring both of his ankles in the White Sox series. While John Schneider said Barger is making progress in his recovery, he may need more than a day or two to regain full strength. In that case, the Blue Jays could place Barger on the 10-day injured list, and recent trade acquisition Tyler Fitzgerald is the most likely candidate to replace him on the roster. Barger is just 1-for-19 this season with a double, three walks, and six strikeouts. Tyler Fitzgerald Reports to Triple-A Buffalo The Blue Jays acquired utility player Tyler Fitzgerald from the Giants over the weekend in exchange for cash. Fitzgerald enjoyed a strong, out-of-nowhere breakout in 2024, slugging 15 home runs and reaching 3.0 fWAR in just 96 games. However, he fell back down to earth in 2025 and failed to break camp with San Francisco this season. The Giants designated him for assignment last Monday. The righty-batting Fitzgerald has an option remaining, which could help him stick on the Jays' 40-man roster, given the organization's lack of MLB-ready infield depth. He is primarily a shortstop and second baseman, though he has experience at every position except for catcher. Alejandro Kirk Is Having Thumb Surgery Toronto's catcher will have surgery to repair his fractured thumb today. This confirms what we essentially already knew: Alejandro Kirk will miss several weeks at a minimum. However, the Jays will wait until after his procedure to provide a timeline. Austin Voth DFA'd, Josh Fleming Selected Prior to Monday's series opener against L.A., Toronto DFA'd right-hander Austin Voth and replaced him in the bullpen with southpaw Josh Fleming. Voth made one appearance for the Jays, tossing 2.2 innings against the White Sox. If he goes unclaimed on waivers, he will most likely elect free agency. Fleming threw three much-needed innings against the Dodgers yesterday after Scherzer exited early, though he gave up four runs on six hits and just one strikeout. While he wasn't the only pitcher on the team to be shelled by the Dodgers' offense, he certainly didn't help his chances to stick in the big league bullpen for long. View full article

The Blue Jays made a handful of transactions before their game this afternoon. Seeking a shot in the arm for the bullpen, they selected the contracts of Joe Mantiply and Austin Voth from the Buffalo Bisons. To make room for Mantiply and Voth on the 40-man roster, the Jays moved Anthony Santander and Cody Ponce to their 60-day IL. Neither of those moves was unexpected; both Santander and Ponce are expected to miss significantly more than 60 days recovering from their respective injuries. Meanwhile, to free up space in the big league bullpen, Toronto sent Brendon Little and Lazaro Estrada down to Triple-A Buffalo. Estrada got the call to the majors when Ponce hit the IL. He threw four scoreless, hitless innings yesterday, striking out three and walking two. His option has nothing to do with his performance; the Jays simply want as many fresh arms in their bullpen as possible, and Estrada won't be available for several days after throwing 66 pitches on Saturday. As for Little, his situation is a little more complicated. He's given up 11 runs (10 earned) on three home runs in five appearances this season. Of course, this demotion doesn't mean the Blue Jays are giving up on him after a few rough appearances. Rather, he was one of only a few relievers in Toronto's bullpen with a minor league option remaining. Given his struggles, it made perfect sense to give him a brief break in the minors to reset while simultaneously opening up a bullpen spot for a more rested arm. Mantiply and Voth both signed minor league contracts with Toronto this offseason. Mantiply is coming off a rough year in 2025, but the southpaw was a key player in the Diamondbacks' bullpen from 2021-24. Voth has experience as both a starter and a reliever, and he's coming off a successful year in NPB. The Jays will presumably look to him for length. View full rumor

Patrick Corbin and the Toronto Blue Jays have come to terms on a one-year, $1 million contract. Corbin can earn an additional $1 million in incentives. The left-hander will head to Single-A Dunedin to ramp up after missing spring training. Corbin, 36, threw 155.1 innings for the Texas Rangers in 2025, pitching to a 4.40 ERA and 4.75 xERA. While it's been years since he was more than an innings eater, he has been one of the game's more durable arms over the past decade. Toronto signed Corbin in the wake of a serious injury to Cody Ponce, who sprained his ACL during his Blue Jays debut. While the team once seemed to have a surplus of starters, they're now facing a shortage in the rotation. Corbin won't be ready to help out right away, but the Jays clearly understand that there's no such thing as too much starting pitching. View full rumor

Moments before the White Sox walked off the Blue Jays on Friday, Alejandro Kirk exited after taking a foul tip off his left thumb. The All-Star catcher went for X-rays, and the team will presumably provide an update on Saturday. It's not yet clear if Kirk will need to miss time, but if he does, it will be a huge blow to both Toronto's offense and defense. Tyler Heineman has been more than capable as Kirk's backup, and Brandon Valenzuela should be ready for his first taste of the majors, but Kirk is a middle-of-the-order bat and one of the best defensive catchers in the game. The Blue Jays are already dealing with a depleted starting rotation, and losing a talented game-caller and pitch-framer like Kirk would only exacerbate any problems the pitching staff might have. View full rumor

Yeah, those cancelled each other out. The compensation pick for losing Bichette would have been No. 136. And that would have been Toronto's fifth-highest pick.

The Toronto Blue Jays won't have a ton to work with during the 2026 MLB Draft. Of course, that's for the best of reasons. As the 2025 AL pennant winners, the Jays were originally slated to make their first pick in the 29th slot. However, because their luxury tax payroll was more than $40 million above the CBT threshold last season, their first pick dropped down 10 spots to 39th overall. As MLB revealed on Wednesday, the 39th overall pick this summer has a slot value of $2,571,700. That's $698,500 less than the 29th overall pick ($3,270,200) and, just for context, $8,778,900 less than the first overall pick ($11,350,600), which belongs to the Chicago White Sox. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays sacrificed their second-highest selection by signing a free agent who received the qualifying offer (Dylan Cease) this past winter. So, after picking 39th overall, they won't have another chance until pick No. 103 (slot vlaue $762,900). Toronto Blue Jays 2026 Draft Order and Slot Values Here's when the Blue Jays will make their picks through the first 10 rounds of the draft, along with the slot value for each of those picks: No. 39: $2,571,700 No. 103: $762,900 No. 131: $581,100 No. 164: $421,300 No. 193: $330,300 No. 222: $262,300 No. 252: $219,500 No. 282: $202,100 No. 312: $191,900 Picks from the 11th to 20th rounds are governed by a slightly different system. A player drafted between rounds 11 and 20 can sign for as much as $150,000 without counting toward his new team's bonus pool. Any amount over $150,000 will count toward the bonus pool. Players taken in the first 10 rounds can also sign for more than their assigned slot value, but teams cannot spend more than the value of their bonus pool (the combined slot value of their top 10 picks) without facing harsh penalties. That means that to sign one player to an "over-slot" bonus, a team must sign at least one other player to an "under-slot" bonus – unless that team is willing to pay a high overage tax and possibly sacrifice future draft selections. If a player does not sign at all, his slot value is subtracted from the bonus pool of the team that drafted him. The Blue Jays will have a $5,543,100 bonus pool at their disposal this year. That's the second-lowest bonus pool in the draft, ahead of only the Los Angeles Dodgers ($3,951,900). The Pittsburgh Pirates have the largest bonus pool at $19,130,700, while the Tampa Bay Rays have the largest bonus pool in the AL at $19,009,300. Elsewhere in the AL East, the Orioles have a $13,114,000 pool, the Red Sox an $8,219,200 pool, and the Yankees a $7,342,800 pool. In 2025, the Blue Jays had the eighth overall pick in the draft and a $10,314,600 bonus pool to work with. They signed 18 of their 19 picks, including first-rounder JoJo Parker ($6,200,000 bonus). The year before, Toronto had the 20th pick in the first round and an $8,987,000 bonus pool. Their top selection was Trey Yesavage ($4,177,500 bonus), and they also signed third-rounder Johnny King well over-slot ($1,247,500 bonus, $767,200 slot value). All told, the Jays came to terms with 19 of their 21 selections in 2024. Although slot values are up by 2.5% compared to 2025, the Blue Jays' high payroll and high finish last season (plus their signing of Cease) mean they'll have less to spend than in recent years. I doubt anyone is complaining, considering why the team is in this position, but it could make this summer's draft a little less exciting than we've come to expect. The front office will have to work a little harder and a little smarter if the Jays are going to strike gold. View full article

Update (Tuesday, March 31): Ponce has been diagnosed with a right ACL sprain, the team told reporters (including MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson). It’s not yet clear if it’s a full or partial tear, but the righty will miss a good chunk of time either way. It’s possible his season is already over, though manager John Schneider isn’t giving up hope for Ponce’s 2026 campaign quite yet. Monday, March 30: Cody Ponce had to be carted off the field on Monday night. The right-hander was less than three innings into his Blue Jays debut when he hurt his leg fielding an infield groundball. He fell to the ground and needed a medical cart to exit the field. Before he left, Ponce struck out three Rockies batters and generated 15 swings and misses. He averaged 95.9 mph on his four-seam fastball, topping out at 97.1 mph. His slider was his best weapon, earning eight whiffs on 10 swings. For now, the injury has been labelled right knee discomfort. While the Blue Jays likely won't have a more meaningful update until Ponce can go for imaging, an IL stint seems more than possible. Four of Toronto's starters – Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber, José Berríos, and Bowden Francis – are already on the injured list. The next man up could be Adam Macko or Lazaro Estrada for a spot start, though the Jays can get by without a fifth starter until April 8. View full rumor

After almost nine years in Toronto's organization, Leo Jiménez is heading to Miami. Jiménez made a valiant effort to break camp with the Blue Jays, but ultimately, he failed to make the Opening Day roster. As he was out of options, the team had no choice but to designate him for assignment. On Sunday, the Marlins decided to take a chance on the 24-year-old infielder, sending a 23-year-old infielder (and $250,000 of international bonus pool money) to the Blue Jays in return. Miami selected Dub Gleed in the ninth round of the 2024 draft, and he made his affiliated debut in 2025. He rose through the Marlins' system quickly, finishing his season with one game at Triple-A Jacksonville. The corner infielder walked almost as often as he struck out, helping him post a 124 wRC+ across four levels. View full rumor

Haha… I can’t say I like Sam’s prediction either. But — as much as I hate to say it — I think it is probably more realistic than some of the most optimistic predictions in this piece.

The Blue Jays have named the 26 players who will make up their active roster when their season starts on Friday, March 27. The biggest surprise, if you can call it that, is that Rule 5 draft pick Spencer Miles has earned a spot in the bullpen over the more experienced Chase Lee. Meanwhile, the other notable (though even less surprising) piece of news is that Leo Jiménez failed to earn a spot on the 26-man roster and thus was designated for assignment. As expected, Angel Bastardo, another Rule 5 pick, was also DFA'd. Here is Toronto's official Opening Day roster, listed by position and in alphabetical order: Pitchers Dylan Cease Braydon Fisher Mason Fluharty Kevin Gausman Jeff Hoffman Eric Lauer Brendon Little Spencer Miles Tommy Nance Cody Ponce Tyler Rogers Max Scherzer Louis Varland Catchers Tyler Heineman Alejandro Kirk Infielders Ernie Clement Andres Gimenez Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Kazuma Okamoto Outfielders Addison Barger Nathan Lukes Jesus Sanchez Davis Schneider George Springer Myles Straw Daulton Varsho Rehabbing pitchers Shane Bieber, Yimi García, José Berríos, and Trey Yesavage have all been placed on the 15-day IL, while injured outfielder Anthony Santander has been placed on the 10-day IL (retroactive to March 22). They join Bowden Francis, who landed on the 60-day IL back in February. View full rumor