TORONTO – Max Scherzer’s ongoing right thumb issues landed him on the injured list Sunday, leaving the Toronto Blue Jays to consider pushing either Yariel Rodriguez or Easton Lucas into the rotation.
The move came as no surprise after Scherzer made it through just three innings in his club debut Saturday before being forced from the outing by right lat soreness. He said that was directly related to compensating for his thumb and added that “I’ve got to get this (thumb) 100 per cent before I pitch again.”
Lucas, who had been slated to start at triple-A Buffalo, was summoned – as was lefty Mason Fluharty, whose contract was selected to replace fellow lefty Richard Lovelady, who was designated for assignment – as the Blue Jays were forced to tweak their staff on the fly.
Schneider said both Lucas and Yariel Rodriguez, the swingman positioned to step in for Scherzer if he wasn’t ready for the opening day roster, are available out of the bullpen in the days ahead. The rotation vacancy next comes up Friday at the New York Mets, so the Blue Jays will “see where we land after today and the next couple games and go from there.”
“After his last outing in Fort Myers and how he felt the day and day after that led us to set our plan the way we did with the rotation,” Schneider said of Scherzer. “And then everything he did leading up to (Saturday), both from a bullpen session and throwing session on how he was feeling, it kind of just crept up on him a little bit, more so than it had in spring. It was unfortunate that the timing was his first start, third game of the year.”
The 40-year-old right-hander is visiting a hand specialist Monday to determine next steps, but the uncertainty over his thumb resurfaced questions about why the club chose not to carry lefty Ryan Yarbrough, the versatile lefty perfect for such scenarios.
They’ve now thinned out their pitching depth, with Jake Bloss, the centrepiece of the return from Houston for Yusei Kikuchi last summer, someone the Blue Jays “want to probably get off to a good start after turning the corner in the middle of camp … before we start looking at him.”
Fluharty, a fifth-round pick in the 2022 draft, takes over from Lovelady, who allowed four runs in a messy fourth Saturday that included a walk and two-hit batters that turned a 4-2 lead into a 6-4 deficit. The Blue Jays also used five relievers both Thursday and Saturday, necessitating a move.
“Mason’s opened a lot of our eyes, especially this year, but going back to last year and then kind of turning the corner in spring,” said Schneider. “Excited for him to get this opportunity.”
Watch the Blue Jays take on the Orioles in the finale of a four-game set live on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ starting at 1:37 p.m. ET / 10:37 a.m. PT.
