Building an MLB roster sounds easy. Everyone thinks they can be a general manager – and, for that matter, a manager. Just listen to the radio or scroll through social media. GM Ross Atkins’ job is easy and so is manager John Schneider’s.
That’s not the reality.
The parts of a general manager’s job that are most difficult, in the short term, are backfilling the roster when there are injuries, and then dealing with the longer-term impacts on other players and components of the team.
A team is almost always weakened when there are injuries on the major-league roster. It’s not often that a replacement makes the team better. Occasionally, a call-up from the minors can give a burst of energy, but generally the better players are at the major-league level. Minor leaguers are minor leaguers for a reason.
Injuries also put pressure on everyone else in the lineup to produce more. Sometimes others can step up, but trying to do more generally leads to delivering less.
For the manager, injuries can complicate the decision-making process. It’s especially complicated when the starting rotation suffers injuries. When the starting staff is weakened, it usually means that the bullpen is going to be asked to do more. That can be managed in the short term, but the longer injuries last, or if they multiply, the bullpen can get worn down.
This an area of grave concern for the Blue Jays this season. They have had more than a few starters who have missed time so far in 2026: Trey Yesavage, Max Scherzer, Cody Ponce, Jose Berrios, Shane Bieber, and Dylan Cease. The starters often have pitch limits upon their return, which means more work for the bullpen.
Plus, before acknowledging an injury, performance has been compromised and pitchers have been knocked out of games sooner than desired. To compound the problem, the Jays have had to resort to using openers or bullpen days on a number of occasions.
How serious is the over usage of the bullpen? There are 20 relief pitchers in all of baseball who have appeared in 36 games or more this season and five of them are Blue Jays. Mason Fluharty (41, the most in MLB), Braydon Fisher (39), Tyler Rogers (38), Louis Varland (38), and Jeff Hoffman (36) are all on pace for 74 games or more. For most of them, this comes after a heavy workload last season and an entire extra month of postseason baseball.
At this rate, the Jays’ bullpen will be dusted by the traded deadline. The concern is not only about the fear of injuries for the pitchers, but also how fatigue can compromise their command and control. Their performance can deteriorate the more they get fatigued.
Schneider is in a tough spot. He has to try to win every game he can while his team is undermanned both on the pitching and offensive side. He can’t afford not to use his pitchers, all while knowing that he can’t afford to overdo it either.
Schneider needs stability in the rotation to be able to manage his bullpen differently. The Jays cannot survive using an opener in a spot in the rotation moving forward. It can wipe out the bullpen for five days at a time. Reports indicate that Bieber is going to be activated on Tuesday, which is coming at just the right time.
Atkins will have to fortify his pitching staff at the trade deadline. The sooner the better. Yimi Garcia has been working his way back from elbow surgery but had a setback. He is not a predictable solution. The improvements are going to have to come from outside the organization.
The offence has not been spared
Injuries to a number of Toronto’s position players have also been damaging to the offence. There is a rhythm to a lineup during the course of a game. At-bats can connect to one another. Hitters reaching base changes at-bats for the players who follow. But the deeper a team has to test its depth and give at-bats to lesser hitters, the more the offence will start and stop.
The loss of catcher Alejandro Kirk to a broken thumb really hurt the offence because he is a hitter who connects the front and back of the lineup. He makes contact, drives in runs and keeps the line moving.
Of course, the Jays welcomed Kirk back despite rookie Brandon Valenzuela performing so well in his absence. Now Schneider will have a challenge keeping both of them hungry and sharp. Usually, we say depth is a good problem to have, but in this case, splitting time may diminish both players’ production.
Addison Barger was such a huge piece of the offence last year. The Jays needed a big left-handed bat when switch-hitter Anthony Santander was injured. Barger stepped in and developed into a huge threat. His absence is significant this year. Barger, like Kirk, is also a middle-of-the-lineup conduit to the back of the lineup. He is a run producer and table-setter. He will primarily cut into the playing time of Jesus Sanchez when he returns from his elbow injury.
One of the big challenges Schneider has in putting together his lineups is George Springer no longer plays in the outfield. It would be easy to split catching time between Kirk and Valenzuela using the designated hitter role to keep both bats in the lineup. But Springer is only a DH at this stage of his career. Although he isn’t performing as well as he did last year, it would be tough to sit Springer for others.
The good news for the Jays this season is that the American League has fallen back to them. Currently, the Blue Jays are in the third wild-card spot despite being just 39-39, but all 15 teams in the American League are within eight games of a playoff spot. The A.L. is waiting for teams other than the Yankees (46-30) and Tampa Bay Rays (43-31) to separate from the pack.
The Jays are very fortunate to be where they are in the standings considering how things have gone so far this year. But they can’t expect that it will remain this way. Sooner or later there will be teams that get their act together.
Every team has a story and the Jays’ story this season has been dominated by injuries. They are starting to get healthier, so it’s time for the results to reflect that.
In the meantime, Atkins needs to keep supplementing the club. Bullpen help is a priority. Then he needs to see how the team looks when they get their entire lineup back. If the offence isn’t more consistent, he may need to add a big bat to the outfield rotation. The next month is critical to how this season ends.
