TORONTO -- Remember early March? It was only a few decades ago.
Max Scherzer had just signed back with the Blue Jays, and it wasn’t clear if there would even be a rotation spot for him. That was back when Trey Yesavage was still supposed to be ready for the season. José Berríos hadn’t discovered the crack in his elbow yet. Cody Ponce hadn’t gone down on the infield turf yet, holding his knee.
These days, Scherzer is in the Blue Jays’ rotation because he absolutely must be.
The 41-year-old left his last start against the Dodgers after just two innings, a precaution as he was dealing with forearm tendinitis that he insisted he could pitch through and manage. This time around, in an 8-2 loss on Sunday at Rogers Centre, Scherzer’s velocities looked stronger, but the Twins jumped all over him and he lasted just one out longer. Scherzer allowed eight runs over 2 1/3 innings, including two home runs, another rough day for a rotation which dragged itself through this series.
“I was able to get [my forearm] warm and heat it up. It actually loosened up on me,” Scherzer said. “I actually got there in the first inning and I felt like it was coming out of my hand better today. I was able to throw all of my pitches and as I got out of that outing, I haven’t felt the forearm completely tighten up, so that’s a good sign. I won’t fully know how everything responded until tomorrow. But the forearm ailment I have right now, I think I’m going to get through this and avoid the IL.”
These days, it feels like even the good news comes with a “but,” or is at least attached to bad news.
Game 1: LHP Patrick Corbin
The context: His first MLB start of 2026 after just one Single-A start to build up
The line: 4 IP -- 4 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 3 K
Game 2: LHP Eric Lauer
The context: Pitching with low velocity after battling a serious flu bug last week
The line: 5.1 IP -- 7 ER, 5 H, 5 BB, 3 K
Game 3: RHP Max Scherzer
The context: Threw just two innings in his last start due to forearm tendinitis
The line: 2.1 IP -- 8 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 K
Slap that all together? The Blue Jays’ rotation gave them a 14.66 ERA over 11 2/3 innings with eight walks and nine strikeouts. With those numbers, the Blue Jays are fortunate to have even taken one of the three games from the Twins.
The last series of three or fewer games in which the Blue Jays’ starters gave up 19+ runs was August 17-19, 2018, against the Yankees.
What makes this even more painful? The Blue Jays’ bullpen didn’t allow a single run in this series. All three games, the bullpen came in to clean up and did so flawlessly. In many ways, that’s encouraging, but if the Blue Jays keep asking this much from their bullpen, August and September could look much different. It’s a marathon, but everyone is already sprinting.
“It’s about keeping the game where it should be and lining the bullpen up accordingly,” manager John Schneider said. “Solo homers aren’t going to beat you. This series, whether it was walks or a hit-by-pitch before, that leads to two- and three-run homers. That’s tough to claw back from.”
Help is on the way and the Blue Jays need it. Yesavage will make another rehab start in the middle of this coming week, ideally getting up around 70 pitches. That could set him up to return to the rotation the following week, meaning that Corbin may only need to make one more start in the rotation. Berríos could just be a couple of weeks behind Yesavage, too, but everything still feels so unsettled right now.
Kevin Gausman has pitched like a true ace so far, owning a 2.08 ERA with 26 strikeouts and two walks over 17 1/3 innings. Dylan Cease hasn’t gone deeper than 5 1/3 innings yet in his three starts, but we’ve seen flashes of dominance already. It’s an excellent duo that most rotations in baseball would be jealous of, but beyond them, the Blue Jays have been struggling.
These things tend to compound themselves, too. It strains the bullpen, strains the 40-man roster and might just strain Schneider’s sanity along the way, even if he does a good job of not showing it. The Blue Jays have other problems bubbling up during their 6-9 start, too, but nothing will change until this rotation stabilizes.