It was a brutal Sunday for the Toronto Blue Jays , and not because of the final score of the Pittsburgh Pirates game, which was not in favor of the Jays, but because of the fifth inning in that series finale.
At the top of the fifth, Dylan Cease exited his start with mild hamstring discomfort, and 20 minutes later, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was smoked by a pitch in the elbow, let out a scream, and immediately went into the clubhouse.
Luckily, Vladdy's X-Rays came back negative, but his timetable, as well as Cease's, is still unknown. So, at a time when the organization was in dire need of some positive news, they found it in Single-A Dunedin.
Down in the pipeline Sunday, starting pitcher Jake Bloss was making his first rehab start outside of the rookie league, and he was flawless. Bloss pitched four innings with a lone earned run, no walks, and five K's.
There is a reason that fans aren't familiar with Bloss, as he went under the knife for a Tommy John in May of '25, a mere months after the Jays acquired him in a trade with the Houston Astros , where they also received Joey Loperfido and Will Wagner .
It wasn't a blockbuster deal as all were unestablished in the majors, but Bloss is the lone man left with the team from that swap, and with a team begging for more arms, he could maybe see the majors late in the summer if he keeps progressing through the farm system.
Blue Jays pitcher Jake Bloss (39) throws a pitch during the fourth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at LECOM Park during spring training | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Bloss had spent the entirety of his professional career with the Astros, as they drafted him back in 2023 after he had an eye-catching tenure at Georgetown University. He then started pitching in the minors immediately, as he pitched in seven games in '23.
In his four seasons pitching in both Houston's and Toronto's pipeline, which includes two very short stints in '25 and '26, he has a 3.55 ERA and 147 strikeouts in 144 innings to complement a 1.25 WHIP.
That all looks good, and Bloss is on track for a better time around in '26, post-UCL reconstruction , which could propel him to Triple-A at a rapid pace, as he didn't allow a run to be scored in a pair of Rookie League starts, which is why he was shot up to Single-A.
There is no telling as to what the future for Bloss looks like this year, as nobody will try to rush a pitcher back from a TJ surgery. However, he gave a much-needed positive highlight on Sunday, and it will be intriguing to watch him develop this year.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/bluejays/onsi as Rehab Start for Blue Jays' Jake Bloss Shows Positive Signs Post Tommy John .
