The return of these injured players could shape Toronto's offseason plans

This story was excerpted from Keegan Matheson’s Blue Jays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

TORONTO -- For most of 2026, it felt like the Blue Jays could have fielded a roster from their IL alone, a full rotation included.

Some injuries, you can see coming. When the 42-year-old Max Scherzer runs into a few IL stints, no one should be surprised. When José Berríos has Tommy John surgery after not missing a start for nearly a decade, it’s terribly unfortunate, but we all understand the realities of baseball and the limitations of the human elbow.

The Blue Jays are trying to find that line now between bad luck and controllable variables. Cody Ponce injuring his ACL while fielding a ground ball is just plain awful luck, but when shoulder and elbow issues begin to pile up with pitchers, that deserves a longer look.

“We’re not shrugging our shoulders at that by any means,” GM Ross Atkins said. “We do feel good about the process, but we do need to be better and diversify our demographics.”

The Blue Jays have typically done well with veteran pitchers entering their early- to mid-30s. They have a “type," too. They're always attracted to pitchers with an “athletic” delivery, which means a pitcher who uses their entire body with fluid, natural movement. Think of Dylan Cease as he coasts down the mound, his lower body doing all of the heavy lifting.

Injuries piled up so quickly that it became difficult to keep track of them, but we need to factor in all of these potential returns when we look at this club’s offseason. The Blue Jays should be getting a wave of healthy veterans back, and that will shape how they approach this winter:

1. RHP Cody Ponce (right knee ACL sprain)

Ponce was just 2 1/3 innings into his Blue Jays debut when he hurt his knee fielding an awkward ground ball near first base. He’ll be fully healthy, though, so it’s just a matter of how many innings he can throw in 2027 after missing all of ‘26.

Remember, only two pitchers threw over 100 innings for this team in 2026 -- Cease and Kevin Gausman. The Blue Jays don’t need 32 starts from Ponce, but 120-plus innings would be welcome. If the season started tomorrow, he'd be in the rotation with Cease, Trey Yesavage, José Soriano and Spencer Miles. That’s a fine enough place to be in late October, and the Blue Jays will absolutely be adding to that group.

2. RF Addison Barger (Tommy John surgery)

This is a unique one for a position player. The Blue Jays expect Barger to be “close” to being ready for Spring Training, so it’s safer to look a little beyond that. If Barger can play the majority of the season, that’s a win. Bryce Harper once made a quick return from Tommy John surgery as a DH, but Barger isn’t a Harper-caliber hitter, so his throwing will need to be all the way back first.

3. OF/DH Anthony Santander (left shoulder surgery)

Santander was just about “back” by the end of 2026, but he ran out of time. The Blue Jays don’t want to clog up the DH spot with one hitter, so Santander will need to prove he can play the field, too. Given how the last two years have gone, the Blue Jays need to build a strong team and then consider Santander a bonus, if he can return to even 80 percent of his previous form.

4. RHP José Berríos (Tommy John surgery)

Berríos underwent surgery on May 20, so let’s use “late 2027” as a potential return. By April or May, we should have a much clearer picture.

The 32-year-old is the forgotten man, but this is still Berríos. The version of him we saw in 2025 clearly wasn’t near 100 percent, so what if Berríos still has a second act in him beyond this surgery? Once he opts in, he’ll be under contract for 2027 and '28, making $24 million per season, so he’ll get a shot. It’s still tough to bet against Berríos.

5. RHP Bowden Francis (Tommy John) and RHP Jake Bloss (Tommy John)

Bloss eventually ran into a teres major issue as he rehabbed, but these two right-handers were both lost for all of 2026. Francis should be ready later in ‘27, but Bloss will be ready to rock in Spring Training and has looked great in the Arizona Fall League.

Why will they matter? Imagine how many starts a healthy Francis or Bloss would have made in 2026. Could it have been 20? If injuries hit again, they’ll be crucial depth pieces.