Chad Dallas’ call-up bid grows stronger following another impressive Triple-A outing

When Lauer’s vacated rotation spot comes around on Saturday versus the Detroit Tigers, the current plan — one that’s subject to change — is to use a spot starter/bullpen game with Spencer Miles expected to either start or provide bulk relief out of the ‘pen. Fully stretching him out is certainly under consideration, at least in the short term, with Max Scherzer, José Berríos and Shane Bieber all on the injured list.

The Blue Jays are, however, mindful that Miles entered this season with fewer than 15 innings of professional experience due to several injury-related absences during his tenure with the San Francisco Giants organization. So, they aren’t handing him the keys to the fifth starter’s spot quite yet.

With Friday’s series opener in Detroit marking the start of a 17-game stretch without an off-day, converting Miles to the rotation would prevent him from receiving an extra day of rest during this transition phase. Since he’s only built up to three or four innings, it’d also add additional stress on the club’s bullpen during this gruelling span.

Those factors are also why turning to a traditional starter like Dallas may be a more sustainable solution until Scherzer or Bieber returns.

The next time Toronto’s fifth starter’s spot will come around again is next Thursday — the finale of a pivotal four-game series in the Bronx. It’s possible that the organization could look to Dallas to make that start, as manager John Schneider has already previously mentioned him (along with CJ Van Eyk) as potential call-up candidates if they opt to dip into their Triple-A depth.

After Dallas’ latest outing on Thursday, an argument could be made that his next start should come with the Blue Jays. The 25-year-old righty continued his impressive start to the season, holding the Worcester Red Sox — Boston’s Triple-A affiliate — to just one run on a pair of hits and walks each while striking out five across four innings, landing 40 of his 63 pitches for strikes.

It was the sixth time in eight games (seven starts) that Dallas has allowed one run or less in 2026, lowering his ERA and FIP on the year to 3.41 and 2.92, respectively.

Since returning from Tommy John surgery, Dallas has yet to pitch deeper than 4.2 innings thus far, but it’s worth noting that this was the first time he pitched on five days’ rest since early April. That means he’d likely be lined up to make his next appearance either Wednesday or Thursday next week, whether that’s in New York with the Blue Jays or in Syracuse with the Bisons.

One of the biggest changes to Dallas’ profile post-surgery has been a considerable uptick in swing-and-miss, as he’s punched out over a quarter of the batters he’s faced in 29 innings this season. That increase can primarily be credited to an adjustment to his pitch usage, resulting in more sweepers and curveballs — occupying over 50 per cent of his arsenal this season, both of which have produced a whiff rate of at least 30 per cent — and fewer cutters and four-seamers.

Considering Dallas (who isn’t on the 40-man roster) missed all last season, the Blue Jays would have to continue navigating his workload carefully — similar to Miles’ situation — on a start-to-start basis if they selected him from Triple-A. Or perhaps those two could work in tandem, like in a piggyback-type structure, piecing together five or six innings rather than having that responsibility fall on one or the other.

Granted, that also wouldn’t be a perfect solution since it would cause the Blue Jays to operate one reliever short in the games sandwiched around that spot in the rotation. For a team thin on perfect solutions, this might be the closest avenue to one, for now.

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