The Blue Jays Have Some Tough Rule 5 Decisions To Make

Even though the Toronto Blue Jays‘ MLB roster seems almost fully fleshed out, there are still some decisions the team needs to make regarding a few areas of the roster.

Over this offseason, the Jays made several additions through free agency, trades, and the Rule 5 draft.

The Rule 5 draft offers teams the opportunity to take a flyer on borderline big league talent from other organizations, but stipulates that any players taken must occupy a 26-man roster spot for the entirety of the regular season. If this is not adhered to, the player is returned to their previous organization at a cost of $50,000, nullifying the draft pick.

Over the last two offseasons, the Blue Jays have claimed multiple players who now have chances to make an impact at the MLB level for them in 2026. Despite the fact that the Jays’ Opening Day roster is fairly set in stone, the future can be unpredictable, and if they have strong performances in spring training, anything is possible.

Angel Bastardo, RHP

Angel Bastardo was selected sixth overall by the Blue Jays in the 2024 Rule 5 draft from the Boston Red Sox and is making his first appearances in their minor league system this spring training.

Bastardo underwent Tommy John surgery partway through the 2024 season and ended up missing the entirety of 2025. Never having played above the Double-A level, Bastardo has been impressive in his outings this spring, albeit in a small sample size.

In 3.2 innings, Bastardo has allowed four baserunners (1 walk, 4 hits) with two strikeouts. He coaxed a double play-ball from Team Canada’s Josh Naylor, who became the owner of a $92.5 million contract this offseason.

Throwing a fastball that has reached 98.6 mph and a changeup-slider combo that sits in the mid-80’s, Bastardo has an MLB-calibre pitch mix that’s making him a reliable arm early in the spring.

FanGraphs has Bastardo ranked as Toronto’s 12th-best prospect as of March 2026. Throughout his professional career in the Red Sox organization, he showed a strong ability to strike hitters out while struggling with command at times. FanGraphs’ Blue Jays ZiPS projections have Bastardo posting a 4.44 ERA over 77.0 innings if he gets a full season of MLB action.

It’s important to note that those projections see him as a starter, the role that he’s exclusively pitched in for quite some time; he made his last relief appearance in 2021. Bastardo seems like a solid arm, but it would take quite a bit of improvement for him to make Toronto’s Opening Day roster.

Spencer Miles, RHP

The Blue Jays selected right-handed arm Spencer Miles 10th overall in the 2025 Rule 5 draft from the San Francisco Giants, and he’s been given more looks so far this spring than Bastardo.

Miles has factored into four games on the mound for the Jays, allowing two runs (3.60 ERA) and tallying eight strikeouts so far. He’s also allowed a lot of baserunners, giving up six hits and four walks in the five innings he’s thrown.

Similar to Bastardo, Miles spent the 2025 season recovering from Tommy John surgery that he received in 2024, essentially making this year’s spring training his first in-game action since the surgery.

The right-hander has looked strong at times, showcasing a pitch repertoire featuring a four-seam fastball in the mid-to-upper-90’s, a cutter/sinker combo with decent movement, and a nice curveball with great potential.

Miles coaxed a strikeout from noted big-leaguer Trevor Story on that curveball earlier in the spring, so he’s capable of handling MLB competition. However, an injury-riddled professional career has only permitted him to throw a total of 14.2 innings since he was selected in the fourth round of the 2022 MLB Draft.

He evidently has the talent to pitch in the big leagues, and the 25-year-old has worked diligently through injury and repeated setbacks over his career. His story is exactly the type you want to see culminate in an MLB debut.

Who Could Break Camp?

Bastardo and Miles aren’t among the most highly-ranked Blue Jays prospects, yet their abilities shouldn’t only be evaluated by rankings.

Both of these pitchers have shown an ability to handle some big league competition in spring training thus far, but are they ready for an MLB roster spot? The easy answer is no, owing to the Jays’ sheer depth of pitching at the MLB level.

The bullpen should contain arms like Jeff Hoffman, Yimi García, Tyler Rogers, Louis Varland, Brendon Little, Braydon Fisher, Mason Fluharty, and Tommy Nance, and these two pitchers, Bastardo and Miles, don’t necessarily compare so well with the likes of those arms.

Not to mention, Eric Lauer and José Berríos will likely factor in as long relievers this season. There’s just not a lot of room for new names to break into Toronto’s bullpen right now.

Could Bastardo or Miles break another team’s 26-man roster out of spring training? Yes, more than likely, they’d have strong chances with some other organizations. Despite the fact that neither has pitched above Double-A, they definitely have the skill sets to benefit a team at the MLB level, and they deserve a chance to do so.

However, this isn’t to say that there’s absolutely zero chance that they could realize their big league dreams with the Blue Jays, as Miles shows great potential with his wicked arsenal of fastballs and breaking pitches. He has the better odds out of these two pitchers, but it’d be hard to put on a straight face and say either one has a better chance to make the roster than not.

Miles and Bastardo’s Rule 5 status has made them surprisingly notable players to watch this spring training, and by no means are they bad or ineffective pitchers.

These are two incredibly talented athletes whose paths just simply are not likely to bring them to the big leagues with the Blue Jays this season. However, they have both proven themselves capable of great things on the mound, and it wouldn’t be surprising to hear of their MLB debuts in the near future.