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The Toronto Blue Jays' 2026 season is set to begin in a few minutes. To kick things off, the team is at home to host the Athletics for a three-game series.
That said, the Jays' season will kick off without several key pitchers. Right now, Jose Berrios, Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber, and Yimi Garcia are all sidelined, so the team's depth will be put to the test early on.
The good news is that depth does exist. There's reason to believe we'll be able to hold on until the injured players return.
And the other good news is that there's good news regarding the injured players. We learned yesterday that Yesavage is making good progress… and today, John Schneider had more positive updates to share.
First off, Berrios and Garcia both threw in Dunedin today, and things went well for both of them. They each threw about 20 pitches and felt good afterward.
Jose Berrios and Yimi Garcia both threw side sessions on Friday at the Blue Jays complex in Dunedin.
Berrios threw 25 pitches; Garcia threw 22. Both reported feeling good afterward
— Arden Zwelling (@ArdenZwelling) March 27, 2026
They won't be back tomorrow morning, but this shows that both guys are making progress. Berrios may need a little more time to be ready to take on a starting role (if that's really the club's plan), but Garcia could step in to help out in the bullpen sooner rather than later.
And as for the other injured player, Shane Bieber, we should see him back on the mound soon as well. That's expected to happen sometime next week.
Shane Bieber (elbow) is expected to pitch off a mound for the first time this spring sometime next week
— Arden Zwelling (@ArdenZwelling) March 27, 2026
Bieber is further from a return than the other pitchers currently sidelined, as he still hasn't thrown from a mound even once since the start of camp. We also need to see him push himself so he'll be able to handle a starting pitcher's workload upon his return.
But overall, seeing the four injured players making progress is good news. If the team can hold its own early in the season, reinforcements could arrive sooner rather than later.
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