On Tuesday, the Toronto Blue Jays placed starting pitcher Cody Ponce on the 15-day injured list with a right ACL sprain. Though they haven't given a specific timetable for return, they did say he's set to miss "significant" time. There are certainly fears that he'll miss the entire season, which would be yet another tough blow for the Blue Jays rotation.

In addition to Ponce, Toronto has already lost depth starter Bowden Francis for the season because of Tommy John surgery. Top prospect Jake Bloss won't be an option until later in the season as he recovers from his own Tommy John surgery and Trey Yesavage (right shoulder impingement), Jose Berrios (right elbow stress fracture) and Shane Bieber (forearm fatigue) are all on the injured list.

Because of the injury issues, the Jays are going to be left scrambling while the latter three pitchers work towards returns. They could try to bring up someone from Triple-A and piece it together, or they could go out and bring in someone from the outside.

Lucas Giolito would fit that bill as he remains surprisingly unsigned.

A nine-year veteran of the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Guardians, Los Angeles Angels and Boston Red Sox, Giolito went 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA in 26 starts for Boston a season ago. An All-Star in 2019, he's gone 71-66 in his career with a 4.30 ERA.

Given that he needs a job, Giolito would likely be eager to sign and would probably come fairly cheaply. He'd probably be extra open to signing with a contender who has a chance to win the World Series. 

But should the Blue Jays actually be interested in him?

To be honest? No. 

While Giolito is good and a clear upgrade over whatever patchwork the Jays can do to cover for Ponce, it just doesn't seem worth it. Given that he missed all of spring training, he'd need a fairly significant ramp-up period and some rehab starts. It seems unlikely that he'd be ready for major league game action until at least the end of April, and if that's the case, the Jays are likely better off just waiting for their own pitchers to get healthy.

Berrios, specifically, had a mostly full spring training and has continued throwing. Toronto has not put specific timelines on any of three pitchers, but Berrios seems like he could be ready at a similar time to that of Giolito. 

Toronto should just wait for him and save the money.

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