What could Toronto’s starting five look like if everything falls into place?
Will Vest on playoff adrenaline, 2026 seasonNextStay
After seeing how the Los Angeles Dodgers powered their way to another World Series title with elite pitching, the Toronto Blue Jays now know the importance of having a dominant starting rotation. Not that their starting five of Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, Chris Bassitt, José Berríos and Max Scherzer was a pushover, but the Dodgers practically had four No. 1 aces pitching in their rotation to help lead the team to winning success.
As a result, the Blue Jays should aim big to put up a formidable starting five that could comparably go up against not only the Dodgers, but against any team in the league. With that in mind, what would a dream rotation for Toronto look like for the 2026 MLB season? Taking into consideration mainly the options that the Jays can find in the free agent market, here is what the ideal starting five could shape up into.
After seeing how the Los Angeles Dodgers powered their way to another World Series title with elite pitching, the Toronto Blue Jays now know the importance of having a dominant starting rotation. Not that their starting five of Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, Chris Bassitt, José Berríos and Max Scherzer was a pushover, but the Dodgers practically had four No. 1 aces pitching in their rotation to help lead the team to winning success.
As a result, the Blue Jays should aim big to put up a formidable starting five that could comparably go up against not only the Dodgers, but against any team in the league. With that in mind, what would a dream rotation for Toronto look like for the 2026 MLB season? Taking into consideration mainly the options that the Jays can find in the free agent market, here is what the ideal starting five could shape up into.
Dream Blue Jays starting rotation for 2026 season
No. 1 Kevin Gausman
With Gausman back once again with the Blue Jays this upcoming season, he remains the de-facto team ace given what he has accomplished with the team since joining Toronto during the 2021-22 offseason. All he has done is put up a 48-41 winning record with a stellar 3.48 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, along with 793 strikeouts in 733 2/3 innings pitched over 125 starts in his four years with the Jays.
Not only that, Gausman also finished as a finalist for the AL Cy Young Award in 2023. In addition, he delivered for Toronto during their 2025 postseason run with quality starts practically each time out. As a result, he is the team’s No. 1.
No. 2 Shane Bieber
After opting in to stay with the Jays for the 2026 season, Bieber will now get the opportunity to show what he can provide to the ballclub over an entire season. Nevertheless, the glimpse of his former Cy Young ability after joining Toronto for the stretch and playoff runs was sure convincing in helping the Jays reach all the way to the World Series.
Bieber went 4-2 with a 3.57 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, along with 37 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings pitched coming back from Tommy John surgery during the regular season while coming up with two key wins while sporting a 3.86 ERA in five games during the postseason. For quickly committing to the team for continual success, he gets the No. 2 slot.
No. 3 Dylan Cease
Whether from media sources or the social fanbase, Dylan Cease appears to be the main pitcher in free agency that everyone wants landing with the Blue Jays. It definitely makes sense as he is one of the younger starters in the market that has proven to be an elite front-end rotation option in the majors. After all, Cease had finished in the top five in Cy Young voting twice, including runner-up in 2022 to Justin Verlander.
Moreover, the Jays shouldn’t be scared off by his off-year in 2025 given his solid career ERA of 3.88 along with a whopping 1231 strikeouts in just 1015 1/3 total innings pitched. Adding the 29-year-old right-hander and his strikeout ability to the Jays rotation will no doubt make them that much more daunting to play against, especially with someone like Cease in the No. 3 slot.
No. 4 Tatsuya Imai
The surprise of the Jays offseason will be when they end up winning the Tatsuya Imai sweepstakes. For someone in which the Bleacher Report had the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox ahead of Toronto in terms of where he would land, the Blue Jays will end up stealing Imai away at the very last minute. In doing so, the Blue Jays finally secure an elite Japanese star for their rotation after missing out on the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki during each of the past couple of offseasons.
Imai is coming off a stellar 2025 campaign with the Saitama Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball in which he compiled a 10-5 record with a 1.92 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, together with 178 strikeouts in 163 2/3 total innings over 24 games played. Keeping any elite player away from joining the Yankees or Red Sox is already a win in itself, but to have the young 27-year-old slot in as the Jays No. 4 in the rotation could be a potential nightmare for opposing teams for years to come.
No. 5 Trey Yesavage
Finally, rookie Trey Yesavage will round out the starting five as their No. 5. Given what he did for the Blue Jays down the stretch and especially in the playoffs, many might have expected him to slot in a lot higher in the rotation as a result. But we should temper our expectations as young pitchers like Yesavage usually need to go through a slight adjustment period once opposing teams start figuring him out. Therefore, putting him in the No. 5 slot will take the pressure off of him to deliver right away and allow him to focus and mould himself into a future bonafide No. 1 with the proper growth and development.
As for Berríos, the Blue Jays will find a way to move the 31-year-old veteran to free up some money to allow for the Cease and Imai signings. As a result, Toronto will have one of the best rotations in all of baseball, which should instill fear in the opposition, including the reigning World Series champions Dodgers.
