The Toronto Blue Jays have placed Dylan Cease, their starting pitcher, on the 15-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain. Cease exited the game against Pittsburgh with two outs in the fifth inning, while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. also left the same game with a right elbow contusion. Guerrero was absent from the starting lineup for the following game against the Miami Marlins.
In his debut season with Toronto, Cease holds a 3-3 record and a 3.05 earned-run average after signing a lucrative seven-year, $210-million US deal. The Blue Jays roster currently lists 13 other players sidelined due to injuries, including key pitchers like Shane Bieber, Berrios, Bowden Francis, Cody Ponce, and Max Scherzer.
Nathan Lukes, who recently returned from a 10-day IL stint, rejoined the team for the Marlins series. Lukes had been recovering from a left hamstring strain since April and showed promising performance in recent games with the Dunedin Blue Jays.
Despite the setbacks, the Blue Jays sit at third place in the American League East with a 25-28 record. Following the game, it was confirmed that Guerrero’s X-ray showed no fractures in his elbow, although he reported numbness in his arm and hand after the injury.
Cease displayed a strong performance before his injury, pitching 4 2/3 innings with two runs and four hits against the Pirates. This incident marked only the second time in 11 starts this season that Cease failed to complete five innings. Cease has a remarkable track record of making at least 30 starts in each of the past five seasons, a feat shared by only three other MLB pitchers, including Berrios, Corbin, and Gausman from the Blue Jays rotation.