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Blue Jays' Max Scherzer: Four no-hit frames Saturday
Rotowire
Scherzer walked one and struck out one over four scoreless, no-hit innings during Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies.
Making his first appearance of the spring, the 41-year-old Scherzer ended up in something of a pitcher's duel with 22-year-old Andrew Painter in what ended up being a 1-0 win for the Blue Jays. Scherzer faced the tougher lineup of the two, as the Phillies sent out most of their Opening Day starters who weren't participating in the WBC, including Trea Turner, Alec Bohm and J.T. Realmuto. Scherzer tossed 29 of 40 pitches for strikes, and while it's not yet clear how Toronto will arrange its rotation to begin the season with Jose Berrios healthy and Trey Yesavage likely to handle a limited workload, the future Hall of Famer looks like he'll be ready for a significant role right out of the gate.
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Blue Jays' Trey Yesavage: Limited workload to start season
Rotowire
Yesavage could face a workload restriction to begin the season, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
The Blue Jays have been pitching Yesavage in live batting practice sessions rather than games so far this spring, and there's no timeline for when he will appear in a Grapefruit League contest. Manager John Schneider noted Friday that "we still view him as a starter," but the righty could be limited to 3-to-4 innings per start early in the season. Toronto is being careful with Yesavage's workload after he threw 139.2 innings across all levels in 2025, including the postseason -- a 46.1-inning jump from his final collegiate season in 2024.
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Blue Jays' Ricky Tiedemann: Remains shut down from throwing
Rotowire
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Friday that Tiedemann (elbow) has yet to resume a throwing program, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Tiedemann was shut down a couple weeks ago after feeling left elbow soreness following a bullpen session. An MRI cleared the lefty of structural damage, and Schneider noted that Tiedemann could be cleared to resume throwing "hopefully in the next couple of days."
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Blue Jays' Shane Bieber: No timetable for mound work
Rotowire
Bieber (forearm) had a heavy flat-ground throwing day Friday, but there remains no timeline for when he will throw from a mound, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Friday that "all reports are good" on Bieber, who is "champing at the bit." It's clear, however, that Toronto will continue to proceed cautiously with the right-hander as he works his way back from last year's forearm fatigue. Bieber has already been ruled out for Opening Day, and given where he's at in his throwing program, a minimum stay on the injured list seems unlikely.
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Blue Jays' Jeff Hoffman: Plans to ease back on fastball
Rotowire
Hoffman plans to throw his four-seam fastball less often in 2026 while increasing his slider usage, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reports.
Two years ago with the Phillies, Hoffman threw his slider 47.9 percent of the time and his four-seamer 27.4 percent, and the result was a 2.41 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 33.2 percent strikeout rate over 52.1 innings, as well as a barrel rate allowed in the 99th percentile and a hard-hit rate allowed in the 95th percentile. In 2025, while feeling the weight of a big free-agent contract from the Jays and his first season as a full-time closer, the right-hander tried to attack the zone more often and threw his fastball 37.4 percent of the time, while reducing his slider usage to 29.9 percent. His numbers took a big step backward as a result, highlighted by a first percentile barrel rate allowed and 58th percentile hard-hit rate allowed. A renewed emphasis on his slider, which generated a career-high 47.4 percent whiff rate last season, should help Hoffman regain some of the dominance that slipped away from him.
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Blue Jays' Joe Mantiply: Inks deal with Toronto
Rotowire
Mantiply signed a minor-league contract with the Blue Jays on Tuesday that includes an invite to big-league spring training.
The 35-year-old lefty spent the previous six seasons with the Diamondbacks but was released last June. Mantiply then inked a minor-league pact with Toronto in July. He appeared in 14 games out of the bullpen for Triple-A Buffalo, posting a 3.45 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 19:0 K:BB across 15.2 innings but didn't appear in any big-league games for the Blue Jays. Mantiply will compete for one of the final spots in the bullpen ahead of Opening Day.
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Blue Jays' Adam Macko: Optioned to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Blue Jays optioned Macko to Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
The left-hander delivered two scoreless appearances early in camp but was never a likely bet to make Toronto's Opening Day roster. Macko started in 10 of his 18 appearances at Triple-A last season, finishing with a 5.06 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 65:36 K:BB over 64 innings.
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Blue Jays' Addison Barger: Slugs first spring homer
Rotowire
Barger went 1-for-4 with a grand slam in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox.
The 26-year-old got hold of a hanging splitter from minor-leaguer Patrick Halligan for his first homer of the spring. Barger is expected to spend most of his time in right field this season while Kazuma Okamoto handles third base, and defensive stability could allow him to build on his 2025 breakout at the plate, when he slashed .243/.301/.454 in 135 games with 21 home runs.
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Blue Jays' Cody Ponce: Getting stretched out
Rotowire
Ponce allowed one run on four hits over two innings in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox. He struck out two without walking a batter.
The right-hander built up to 32 pitches (18 strikes) against a Boston lineup that consisted of prospects and big-league depth players. Ponce has looked good so far this spring as he gets ready to pitch in MLB for the first time since 2021, posting a 4:0 K:BB through his first two appearances and three innings.
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Blue Jays' Max Scherzer: Will be ready for start of season
Rotowire
Scherzer said Tuesday that he is completely over last year's nagging thumb issues and will be ready to go at the start of the season, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
Scherzer also confirmed that he will make his Grapefruit League debut Saturday against the Phillies and hopes to throw multiple innings. The 41-year-old agreed to terms with the Blue Jays just last week, but he's been throwing on his own and appears to be built up stamina-wise where he would normally be at this stage of spring training. Scherzer isn't guaranteed a spot in the Toronto rotation when the regular season begins, however, as Jose Berrios also appears to be over his 2025 injury issues.
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Blue Jays' Max Scherzer: Could pitch in game Saturday
Rotowire
Scherzer could be ready for his Grapefruit League debut as soon as Saturday versus the Phillies, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Scherzer is in Blue Jays camp after agreeing to terms last week, though his deal has yet to be officially announced. It's not a given that the 41-year-old will be part of the Opening Day rotation, but Scherzer had been throwing on his own so it shouldn't take too long to rebuild his stamina.
Blue Jays' Jose Berrios: No-hits Yankees over four frames
Rotowire
Berrios gave up zero hits or runs over four innings Saturday in the Blue Jays' split-squad game against the Yankees. He struck out two and walked two.
The 31-year-old right-hander is looking to bounce back from a tough 2025 season, and Berrios was impressive Saturday against a New York lineup that featured Aaron Judge, Jazz Chisholm and other Opening Day starters. Berrios picked up velocity as the outing progressed, and his fastest pitch of the day registered at 94.5 mph on a four-seamer to top prospect Spencer Jones in the third inning -- a very good sign after he averaged just 93.0 mph with the pitch last season over 166.0 regular-season innings, the lowest mark of his career. With Shane Bieber (forearm) set to miss Opening Day and begin the year on the IL, there's a spot in the rotation for Berrios, but he'll need to show last year's injuries and struggles are behind him to claim it.
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Blue Jays' Josh Kasevich: Strong start to camp
Rotowire
Kasevich went 1-for-1 with two walks, a run scored and two stolen bases in the Blue Jays' split-squad game against the Phillies on Saturday.
The 25-year-old took over for Andres Gimenez at shortstop in the top of the fourth and quickly made a nuisance of himself on the basepaths. Kasevich is a long shot to break camp on the big-league roster after an injury-plagued 2025, but a strong camp could put him in position to make his MLB debut sometime this season when Toronto needs infield depth. Through six games and 12 plate appearance so far this spring, Kasevich has gone 5-for-10 with a homer, two steals on two attempts, two walks and zero strikeouts.
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Blue Jays' Dylan Cease: Fans three in spring debut
Rotowire
Cease allowed one run on one hit and one walk over 1.2 innings during the Blue Jays' split-squad game against the Phillies on Saturday. He struck out three.
Making his Grapefruit League debut for Toronto, Cease threw his first pitch of the day at 98.3 mph, and he topped out at 98.9 mph with his four-seamer. The right-hander did serve up a second-inning solo shot to Bryan De La Cruz, but otherwise it was a strong first outing in a Jays uniform as he tossed 19 of 33 pitches for strikes. Cease will slot in at the top of the rotation after the 30-year-old right-hander signed a seven-year, $210 million deal over the winter. He's topped 200 strikeouts in five straight seasons, posting a 3.72 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 11.3 K/9 during that stretch while averaging about 32 starts and 177 innings a year.
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Blue Jays' Angel Bastardo: Back in action after TJ surgery
Rotowire
Bastardo (elbow) has struck out two batters while allowing one walk and no hits over two scoreless innings through his first two Grapefruit League appearances.
Bastardo appears to be back to full health after he was sidelined for all of 2025 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. After selecting the right-hander in the 2024 Rule 5 Draft, Toronto kept him on the injured list all of last season. Now that he's healthy again, Bastardo will have to spend at least 90 days on the Blue Jays' active roster in 2026, or else Toronto will have to offer him back to the Red Sox.
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Blue Jays' Chad Dallas: Healthy in camp
Rotowire
Dallas (elbow) made his Grapefruit League debut in Monday's 4-3 loss to the Mets, striking out four batters over 1.2 perfect innings of relief.
Dallas spent the entire 2025 season on Triple-A Buffalo's 60-day injured list while recovering from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in September 2024. The right-hander seems to have entered camp without any restrictions and came through with a dominant relief outing in his spring debut. Despite the strong showing Monday, Dallas is likely to spend most of the 2026 campaign in the Buffalo bullpen.
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