BALTIMORE, MD – JULY 29: Manager John Schneider #14 of the Toronto Blue Jays looks on during the third inning in game one of a split doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 29, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
Getty Images
After reaching the World Series last year and then embarking on a roster overhaul, the Toronto Blue Jays have been forced to adjust.
The team entered the season with plenty of depth, particularly in the pitching staff, but things haven’t gone as the organization might have hoped.
Shortly after their season debuts, Cody Ponce and Max Scherzer went down with injuries, with Ponce ruled out for the season. Meanwhile, Shane Bieber and Jose Berrios have yet to make their own debuts, with Berrios now ruled out for the season as well. As a result, the team has been scrambling for healthy arms and that might have unearthed a gem.
“(Spencer) Miles has been the unexpected hero of this pitching staff, helping to stabilize this rotation that’s without a true ‘fifth starter’ while Max Scherzer and Shane Bieber rehab on top of the season-ending injuries to both Jose Berrios and Cody Ponce,” Keegan Matheson wrote for MLB.com. “It’s starting to look like the Blue Jays have hit the Rule 5 jackpot. Now, you’re watching a young pitcher’s confidence grow in real time.”
Toronto Blue Jays’ John Schneider Offers NSFW Reaction To Unexpected Hero Spencer Miles
The Blue Jays acquired Miles via the Major League Baseball Rule 5 Draft, a mechanism that allows teams without full rosters to select eligible minor leaguers from other teams. Miles was eligible in that draft after the San Francisco Giants, who drafted him, opted to keep him in the minors.
They might be regretting that choice now, though, as Miles has emerged with a 2.17 ERA and 29 strikeouts in his first 29 big-league innings with the Blue Jays.
When asked about his reaction to the team acquiring Miles, Blue Jays manager John Schneider offered an explicit response.
“When you’re coming off the year that you just had and you’re taking a guy in the Rule 5, my initial thought was: ‘This guys must be pretty (expletive) good,’” Schneider told Matheson.
Toronto Blue Jays’ Spencer Miles Emerges As Key Arm After Leaving San Francisco Giants
So far, at least, Miles is proving his manager’s hunch to be correct. But the team will need that to continue if it’s going to tread water until the more veteran members of the pitching staff are healthy and ready to return.
“At the moment, Miles is more starter-ish than the Blue Jays had any right to expect when they selected him in the Rule 5 draft,” Nick Ashbourne noted for Sportsnet. “Considering the state of the back of the club’s 2026 rotation, putting his starter-like traits to use in a starter-like role is a welcome bridge to a more sustainable solution.”