Blue Jays suddenly thin on pitching depth

And they succeeded, bringing back Yimi Garcia, adding Jeff Hoffman, and signing Max Scherzer to a one year deal.

Now, suddenly, the Blue Jays pitching depth is tested during the first few weeks of Spring Training.

Alek Manoah and Ricky Tiedemann were already in recovery from Tommy John. This much was known going in. But injuries to the Blue Jays pitching staff go further than this.

Bowden Francis, thought to be the Blue Jays fifth starter heading into opening day, and Yariel Rodriguez, now the long man and potential spot starter in the bullpen, have both had an inconsistent spring.

Adam Macko, the left-handed pitching prospect who projected to start the year in Triple-A and was the Blue Jays 8th starter on their depth chart is now sidelined, recovering from a torn meniscus that will sideline him for several weeks.

Adam Kloffenstein, a non-roster invitee who was also scheduled to be in the rotation at Triple-A to begin the year, has been suffering shoulder and was re-assigned without making a grapefruit league appearance.

Ryan Burr has right shoulder fatigue and on Friday it was announced that set-up man Erik Swanson is scheduled to undergo an MRI and will likely begin the season on the IL.

While there is now an opening for a bullpen job, the Blue Jays will now need to get creative in navigating pre-season injuries.

None of the injured pitchers currently have a timetable for their return.