The Toronto Blue Jays came to a two-year minor league agreement on Wednesday with former Boston Red Sox pitcher Josh Winckowski. While a two-year minor league pact is surprising in and of itself, MLBTradeRumors' Steve Adams also reveals a unique detail: The Blue Jays are planning on building up Winckowski as a starter when he's recovered from internal brace surgery.

Source: Right-hander Josh Winckowski is signing a two-year minor league deal with the #BlueJays. Had internal brace surgery earlier this month. Hoping to pitch late in 2026. Plan right now is to build him back up as a starter when he’s healthy.

About Winckowski

Now 27 years old, he was actually a 15th-round pick of the Blue Jays in the 2016 MLB Draft. He was traded to the New York Mets in January of 2021 and then re-directed to the Red Sox in February of 2021 as part of a three-team trade that eventually sent Andrew Benintendi to the Kansas City Royals.

He made his major league debut with Boston in 2022 - as a starter, but he's been almost exclusively a reliever over the last three seasons.

In 121 career appearances, he has just 21 starts, going 13-14 with a 4.20 ERA. Armed with a good sinker, he doesn't miss many bats, striking out just 195 batters in 242.1 career innings.

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Why the multi-year deal?

This is typical for pitchers who are slated to miss most of one season with injury. It gives the player a little more security heading into 2027 and gives the Blue Jays an opportunity to benefit from the work of their rehab department.

It's what Shane Bieber did with the Cleveland Guardians in 2025, though his second year was an option year, which he exercised to stay with Toronto in 2026.

Why is this surprising?

Winckowski hasn't been a true starter since 2022, so it is an interesting decision for the Jays. Both Bieber and Kevin Gausman are free agents after the 2026 season, so perhaps this is the Jays getting ahead of an in impending issue and working to develop internal candidates to replace them.

Toronto will have Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage and Cody Ponce in 2027, with other candidates like Jose Berrios still in the mix, as long as Berrios is still on the roster. Prospects Jake Bloss and Ricky Tiedemann could factor in as well.

What's next for Toronto?

You'd like to think it's figuring out the plan with Bo Bichette, Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker, who the Jays have all been linked to.

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