Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Yariel Rodriguez continues to look good while pitching for Team Cuba at the World Baseball Classic.

The right-hander, who is coming out of relief for the Cubans, threw two scoreless innings in a win over Colombia on Sunday. He struck out three.

Rodriguez has put together scoreless outings in both games for Cuba, who is 2-0 in Pool A, being played in Puerto Rico. He's thrown 4.1 innings thus far. Back in January, we heard that the Blue Jays would not allow Rodriguez to throw more than two innings in any outing, but he threw 2.1 in game one, so it's unclear what exactly the restrictions in place for him are.

Shi Davidi of Sportsnet notes that that Rodriguez nearly hit 96 mph with his fastball and sat 94.4 on Sunday.

With Rodriguez pitching well, it's worth asking if he can force his way back into the plans for the Blue Jays in 2026.

The 28-year-old Rodriguez was signed to a a five-year deal worth $30 million before the 2024 season. While his 2024 campaign saw him really struggle as a starter, he was much better in 2025. Serving as a reliever, he went 3-2 with a 3.08 ERA in 66 games. He struck out 66 batters in 73.0 innings and helped the Jays reach the World Series.

He was on the playoff roster for the American League Division Series and ALCS before being removed prior to the Fall Classic, and after the big additions of Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce, Rodriguez was outrighted off the 40-man roster in December. Tyler Rogers's signing complicated things for him even further.

Potentially?

The Blue Jays will seemingly enter the 2026 season with Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Cease, Ponce and Max Scherzer in the rotation. Shane Bieber will start on the injured list.

In the bullpen: Jose Berrios, Eric Lauer, Mason Fluharty, Jeff Hoffman, Louis Varland and Rogers seem to be locks. Yimi Garcia will not be ready for Opening Day, meaning there are two spots open in the bullpen.

There is room for Rodriguez, but will the Jays want to jettison anyone else off the 40-man roster in order to make room for him? Will they want to re-add him, just to be faced with another crunch when Bieber and Garcia are ready? That's unclear at this time.

1) The Blue Jays can re-add him to the 40-man roster and put him on the roster.

2) The Jays can stash him in the minor leagues and wait until they need him or want to trade him.

3) Toronto can trade him, likely eating most of the remaining money on his contract. Or, they can release him and suffer the same fate.

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