Toronto Blue Jays injured list has higher payroll than two other MLB teams

The Toronto Blue Jays have had some brutal injury luck to start the 2026 season.

How bad has it been? So much so, that their current injured list carries a higher payroll than two other MLB teams.

With 11 players currently on Toronto's injured list, the combined salary sits at $107 million, which is more than the total payroll of the Miami Marlins and Cleveland Guardians, respectively.

The Marlins have the lowest payroll in MLB at $84 million, while Cleveland is the only other team below the nine-digit mark at $98 million.

Good morning to everyone who said ‘I’m not getting emotionally invested this year - or at least not this early’ and then immediately got emotionally invested.
This table shows the sum of the salaries of players currently on the #BlueJays IL relative to the total 2026 payroll of… pic.twitter.com/cQqLvA8aFJ

— OK Blue Jays (@JaysClubhouse) April 13, 2026

The Blue Jays currently have the fourth-most players on the IL in the league, trailing only the Arizona Diamondbacks (12), Baltimore Orioles (12), and Houston Astros (13).

Nearly 65 per cent of the Blue Jays’ injured payroll is tied up in just four players: George Springer (toe), Jose Berrios (elbow), Shane Bieber (elbow), and Alejandro Kirk (thumb).

Springer was removed from Saturday’s loss against the Minnesota Twins after he fouled a ball off his left toe.  X-rays later showed Springer had fractured his toe, and was shortly placed on the 10-day IL.

George Springer has gone for a CT scan on his left big toe after the initial X-rays showed a fracture. #BlueJays should have a better feel for whether an IL stint is needed (or how long) after that.

— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) April 11, 2026

The veteran outfielder is in the final year of his six-year contract and earns $24.17 million, the third-highest salary on the team, behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Dylan Cease.

Berrios, the fifth-highest-paid player on the roster, who's also on the IL, is expected to begin a rehab assignment for his elbow within the Blue Jays’ minor league system next week, according to Keegan Matheson of MLB.com.

Meanwhile, both Bieber and Kirk are expected to miss significant time and are unlikely to return to the lineup until June or July.

The impact of those injuries has already been felt on the field. Toronto has used a franchise-record 19 pitchers through the first 15 games of the season, and sit last place in the AL East.

Toronto begins a nine-game road trip on Tuesday against Milwaukee Brewers before heading on a west-coast swing against the Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Angels into next week.