TORONTO -- When does a hill become a mountain? When does a pond become a lake? When does an opener become a starter?
Spencer Miles was branded as the Blue Jays’ opener on Sunday against the Angels, but by the time he walked off the mound after three scoreless innings, it felt like we’d stretched the definition of that word too far.
“I was almost a double opener. Can we coin that phrase around the league?” manager John Schneider said.
This is the same Miles who, just six months ago, was selected by the Blue Jays in the Rule 5 Draft despite never having thrown an inning above Single-A Dunedin. Between arm and back surgeries, Miles’ career was stuck on the launching pad, but the Blue Jays saw something in the 25-year-old. Even if it was difficult for the rest of us to see the vision at the time, they’ve nailed this experiment. By the time Myles’ day was done in Toronto’s 6-1 loss, he owned an even 3.00 ERA and had struck out the great Mike Trout swinging. Welcome to the big leagues.
“It’s still surreal getting to strike out a legend like him,” Miles said, “but if I can get Strike 1 and Strike 2, I think my stuff will prevail when I hit my quadrants and hit my spots.”
Tack on a clean, eight-pitch inning from Tommy Nance, and the Blue Jays were cruising. Then, it all fell apart.
Eric Lauer entered as the “bulk guy,” but again, these definitions are growing blurry. Six of Lauer’s first seven pitches were balls, and when the eighth pitch was launched to left field for a two-run shot, the Blue Jays immediately lost their lead.
Lauer ate up the rest of the game -- five innings on 80 pitches -- but he allowed all six runs including three homers. Lauer’s velocity still isn’t back to where it was in 2025, either, sitting more 90-91 mph instead of 91-93 mph, so anything other than pinpoint accuracy puts him in the danger zone.
This spot in the rotation has grown more complicated than it needs to be.
In a perfect world, Lauer would step into this spot just like he did in 2025, when he was one of the most valuable pitchers on the Blue Jays’ roster. Even in a “pretty OK” world, Lauer would operate as the bulk guy behind an opener, but that hasn’t panned out, either.
Earlier this season, Lauer said that he “hated” the opener, believing that it messed with his routines as a starter. At the time, Lauer said that he hoped the Blue Jays would not continue to use an opener in front of him, adding that it was above his pay grade. Schneider quickly agreed that, yes, these things were above Lauer’s pay grade.
Lauer didn’t hold nearly as hard a line Sunday, recognizing that he’s “not a shoo-in for a rotation” spot while addressing the fact he needs to have his best stuff immediately, not after settling in for a couple of innings.
“I obviously shot myself in the foot with my last start giving up three runs in the first inning, so I didn’t do myself much justice there,” Lauer said. “Today, I didn’t do a whole lot better. Whenever I’m out there, starting or coming out of the bullpen, I’ll just make sure it’s as quality as I possibly can. That’s the focus right now.”
The Blue Jays need an answer to this rotation spot. Max Scherzer’s timeline to return is still unclear, Shane Bieber hasn’t started to pitch in rehab games yet and José Berríos has a meeting with Dr. Keith Meister about his troublesome elbow on Tuesday, so the savior is not riding over the hill atop a white horse. Down in Triple-A Buffalo, Chad Dallas and CJ Van Eyk have impressed as starters, but neither are on the 40-man roster yet.
What if Sunday was already our preview of the answer, though? Miles won’t always be as efficient as 38 pitches over three innings, but if he can push that pitch count up into the mid-40s, these bulk outings could suit him well. Pair that with another reliever or two capable of going multiple innings and this could work. It can’t be the plan all season long, but it can work long enough to keep this rotation spot above water while the Blue Jays wait on Bieber, Scherzer or whoever gets healthy first.
“I’m totally capable,” Miles said. “I’m just here to do whatever they ask. I’m a Blue Jay.”
Label him however you want, but every fifth day, Miles has a shot to be the most important Blue Jays pitcher to take the mound.