Blue Jays activate Jameson Taillon to face Royals

While they haven’t confirmed anything yet, it certainly sounds like Taillon is going to miss the remainder of the 2026 season due to inflammation in his pitching elbow. Expect confirmation to come before the weekend is through.

No surprise after Taillon left Friday’s start against the Royals after just 29 pitches. The 34-year-old veteran has been mostly ineffective as a starter this season and has also dealt with a number of physical issues. He’s most likely done for the rest of the season with just three weeks left on the calendar.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider believes that Taillon will be heading to the injured list, regardless of the results of the imaging. The 34-year-old exited Friday’s start against the Royals with inflammation in said shoulder, and it’s feasible — but not a guarantee — he’s made his last start of 2026.

Taillon was returning from a brief IL stint due to forearm tendinitis. He allowed one run in two innings before departing after 29 pitches. If Taillon goes back on the IL, Michael Lorenzen might get a start next week.

Taillon came out of Friday’s 48-pitch minor league rehab start for Triple-A Buffalo without any issues. He’ll throw a bullpen session next week before the Blue Jays determine his next steps. The 34-year-old veteran hit the injured list with forearm tendinitis earlier this month after just two starts with Toronto.

The only positive takeaway is that initial imaging doesn’t seem to have turned up any structural issues after Taillon left Monday’s start against the Red Sox with forearm discomfort. The 34-year-old veteran heads back to the shelf after making only two starts for Toronto following his exit from Chicago’s rotation back in late July. It’ll likely be Simeon Woods Richardson taking his spot in the Blue Jays’ rotation against the Yankees this weekend.

Taillon was replaced by Simeon Woods Richardson after throwing just 61 pitches over four shutout innings. He finished with three strikeouts and also issued three walks. He’s in clear jeopardy of missing his next start against the Yankees on Saturday. It would presumably be Woods Richardson taking his spot in Toronto’s rotation. There should be additional clarity on his status in the coming days.

Taillon showed some extra velocity today, particularly on his secondary pitches; while his fastball was up 0.7 mph from his season average, he was 2.1 mph higher with his cutter and 2.9 mph better with his curve. It didn’t stop him from giving up eight hard-hit balls, including a Jose Altuve homer, but he probably needs to keep throwing harder if he’s going to have a chance of being useful. His current 91.8 mph average on his fastball is down from 92.3 mph last year and a peak of 95.3 mph from his second big-league season with the Pirates in 2017. If Taillon remains in the rotation, he’ll likely face the Red Sox on Monday.

The decision to pitch Taillon in Houston bumps Dylan Cease back to Thursday’s series opener against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. It’ll be José Soriano making his Toronto debut on Friday as they transition to a six-man rotation on a temporary basis.

The Cubs designated the veteran right-hander for assignment earlier in the week, so they were willing to flip him for anything that they could get at this stage. The 34-year-old hurler holds a miserable 5.92 ERA across 76 innings in his 15 starts this season. It’s unclear if he’ll get an opportunity to pitch out of the rotation for the Blue Jays or if he’ll be utilized out of the bullpen initially instead.