The Toronto Blue Jays have had an up-and-down start to the 2026 Major League Baseball season. After going 4-1 through their first five games of the year, manager John Schneider and the Blue Jays have lost three in a row, including Saturday’s 6-3 defeat at the hands of the Chicago White Sox.

In the top of the sixth inning on Saturday, with the Blue Jays down 1-0, Toronto star first basemanVladimir Guerrero Jr. blasted his first home run of the season, a 437-foot, two-run bomb that put his team in the lead at the time.

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However, in the ensuing half inning, Schneider brought in left-handed reliever Brendon Little out of the bullpen to replace Lazaro Estrada, and Little struggled.

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Brendon Little (54) against the Colorado Rockies.© John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Brendon Little (54) against the Colorado Rockies.© John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

(© John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images)

Little threw to four batters and got just one out, as he surrendered a double to Miguel Vargas, a two-run home run to Munetaka Murakami and a solo shot to Colson Montgomery before being taken out of the game with the Blue Jays down 4-2.

This was another bad outing for Little, who has not had a good start to the season. It was his fifth outing of the year, as he has totaled just 3 2/3 innings pitched, giving up 10 hits and 11 runs with six strikeouts and three walks.

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After this outing, MLB.com Blue Jays reporter Keegan Matheson took to social media to say that Toronto should send Little down to Triple-A to get his confidence back.

“This isn’t working right now for Brendon Little. He has an option remaining, which means this doens’t need to be an extreme (or permanent) move. A reset in Buffalo would clearly be beneficial. There’s no such thing as “early” in the AL East. These are all big games,” Matheson said.

This is a sentiment that has been echoed by Blue Jays fans, who have not liked what they’ve seen from Little early in the year.

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If Toronto decides to option Little to Triple-A, two left-handed replacements who would make sense for the Blue Jays would be Chase Lee and Adam Macko. Lee has tossed four innings in Triple-A this season without giving up an earned run, while Macko has thrown 4 1/3 scoreless innings.

After losing their third straight game, the Blue Jays will close out their series against the White Sox on Sunday at 2:10 p.m. ET.

Related: Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Launches 437-Foot First Home Run of 2026

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Apr 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the MLB section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.