Five Pitchers Who Could Bounce Back Big From Injury in 2026

The start of a new season marks the beginning of a ton of different things. It’s a chance for breakout stars from past seasons to prove it wasn’t a fluke. On the other hand, it gives those who struggled last year a fresh start to shake that off and return to form.

Then there is the third one: players returning from injuries.

As it usually goes each season, we see far more injuries than we would like to see. Both short- and long-term ailments have the potential to derail an entire season for a team. While not always the case, injuries to position players can likely be, as Billy Beane said in Moneyball, “re-created in the aggregate”.

However, when it comes to starting pitchers, it becomes far more difficult to find a replacement in the rotation that wouldn’t end up being a significant falloff from the projected production you had in that spot when the season started.

Last season, we saw notable names go down early to an injury that kept them out for the remainder of the year. There were also a couple who couldn’t even start the season for their teams because they were injured before Opening Day.

While we are going to see big-name pitchers like Zack Wheeler and Carlos Rodón start the year on the injured list, they pitched the majority of last season, so they did not make this list of five. Joe Musgrove and Grayson Rodriguez were going to be names that were mentioned, but the recent news of both of them going to start the year on the injured list due to their ramp-ups hitting a snag, I will reference them as honorable mentions.

Five names truly stand out amongst the rest because of the impact they can have on their team’s chances to return to the postseason in 2026.

The Return of Five Aces

Gerrit Cole – New York Yankees

There is no bigger name on this list than Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. The right-hander is looking to make his return from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent last March.

We saw Cole make his 2026 spring debut on March 18. Though it would only be a one-inning outing, just the fact that we were able to see him toe the rubber again was quite the sight for baseball fans.

Before missing all of 2025, Cole was limited to only 95 innings in 2024. He pitched to a 3.41 ERA in those innings, only making 17 starts, and the fastball velo dropped almost a full mph prior to him being held out of the remainder of that season. We also saw the quality of contact against jump up significantly as well, with the percentage of solid contact jumping from 5.9% in 2023 to 7.4% in 2024.

As it currently stands, Cole isn’t going to be the only Yankee starter who starts the season on the injured list, but his return is going to be the most significant. When the Yankees signed Max Fried last offseason, they planned to piece together one of the best one-two starting pitcher combinations in all of baseball.

Although they are going to have to likely wait until June to see them pitch back-to-back, at this point, we can all assume it is going to be well worth the wait.

Shane McClanahan – Tampa Bay Rays

Rays ace Shane McClanahan is arguably one of the most electric pitchers to watch take the mound every fifth day. Unfortunately, like Cole, we did not see him pitch at all in 2025. What makes his return even more significant is that he also did not pitch in 2024.

The last time we saw the Rays’ left-hander take the mound was in 2023. Even then, he was limited to only 115 innings after a career-high 166.1 innings pitched the year prior.

In a recent article regarding the impact of McClanahan’s return, it was rightfully mentioned that, due to the significant layoff, we should not expect him to return to the Cy Young caliber pitcher he can be from day one.

Even though the return of McClanahan has been properly overstated this spring, the significance of the return for the organization as a whole has not been mentioned enough. While there are exciting, young pieces on offense like Junior Caminero and Jonathan Aranda, the Rays’ success is largely dependent on the starting rotation and the advantage that their pitching development gives them amongst the other teams in the league.

The Rays have moved on from Tyler Glasnow and Shane Baz in back-to-back offseasons because of the belief they have in bringing McClanahan back into the rotation.

In a loaded AL East, the return of the left-hander is going to be a huge wild card for the Rays’ postseason hopes. Especially after the recent news of Ryan Pepiot beginning the season on the injured list as well.

Reynaldo López – Atlanta Braves

The 2024 season for Reynaldo López was truly something special. After pitching to a sub-2.00 ERA in 30 starts that season, he started to experience shoulder inflammation that landed him on the injured list at the start of September that year and we have yet to see him return.

While he did make one start last year, the shoulder injury from the previous one was still rearing its ugly head, and he was forced to undergo right arthroscopic shoulder surgery. That one knocked him out for the remainder of the year after that lone start.

The build-up to Opening Day was a nightmare for the Braves’ starting rotation. Spencer Strider was the latest to be placed on the injured list, joining teammates Spencer Schwellenbach, Hurston Waldrep, AJ Smith-Shawver, and Joey Wentz. All but Strider are currently recovering from significant long-term injuries. Strider himself also can’t find a way to stay consistently healthy.

The return of López to the Braves rotation is going to be something this team is going to be excited about, considering they are running out of arms. However, relying on a pitcher who missed essentially all of last season to be your savior is quite the ask of the veteran right-hander.

There will be an obvious need for a build-up for López as the season begins, as evident from his performances during spring. The velocity has been sitting in the low-90s for the most part, but that is expected for him. Recent news also tells us why the velocity dipped as much as it did in his last start.

The 2024 season that López put up showed tangible changes to his pitch mix that provide us optimism that he will, with time, be able to return close to his All-Star form as we kick off the 2026 season.

Jared Jones – Pittsburgh Pirates

If you were following the reports around Pirates’ camp closely, all you would read are the glowing reports surrounding the return of Jared Jones to the their rotation in 2026.

After a delayed start to his spring in 2025, Jones eventually went under the knife to repair his UCL in May. The news was a huge blow to a team that, even though they were not truly set to contend last year, were looking to see further development from the 2025 spring standout who won the rotation spot out of camp.

In his first big league season, Jones put up a 4.14 ERA in 121.2 innings pitched. The young right-hander showed a ton of promise in that one year, and the team was looking forward to the one-two punch that would be he and Paul Skenes.

Now, with Jones set to return, the Pirates’ rotation is looking to be one of the more exciting to follow in baseball. Aside from Skenes and Jones, the Pirates are set to slot Bubba Chandler, Braxton Ashcraft, and Mitch Keller into the other three spots.

While an arsenal that truly is only comprised of a fastball/slider combination, the two-pitch mix is truly something to enjoy when it is clicking. The fastball averaged 97.3 mph, while the slider was touching upper-80s, lower-90s, in his first pro season.

A May return is what the Pirates are currently looking at with Jones, and it is truly going to be something to watch for a team that spent this past offseason building a roster with intentions to compete for a playoff spot.

Justin Steele – Chicago Cubs

Though he was able to pitch in four games last year before undergoing elbow surgery, it is easy to forget about Justin Steele and just how dominant he can be on the mound.

Though they made the playoffs last year, a starting pitcher was something the Cubs were in desperate need of. Even more so when Steele went down. Now, with him set to return to the Cubs rotation, alongside a full-season of Cade Horton, and the offseason trade acquisition of Edward Cabrera, the Cubs feel as if they have the 26-man roster to compete for an NL Central title.

The most promising news came the day after Steele faced live hitters for the first time this spring. According to all of the reports coming out of that live session, it was a “very productive day.”

When you watch him pitch, Steele is not going to be lighting up the radar gun, but his ability to execute his pitches in any count should be considered a work of art. What he truly excels at is limiting hard contact with any of the four-pitch mix that he throws every fifth day on the mound.

For everything the Cubs were missing when Steele went down last year, they were still able to piece together a strong starting five with an average ERA of 3.83 in 855.2 innings pitched. Considering all that Steele can provide, this could be a midseason acquisition that could truly be the separator in the chase for a playoff spot.