The Toronto Blue Jays are off to a strong start to the season, but they hope that a talented roster will be getting even better in the coming weeks. This winter, there were few teams more active than the Blue Jays. With Vladimir Guererro’s contract status at the time up in the air, the front office was clearly trying to put together a compelling case to entice him to stay.
That clearly worked with him signing a $500 million extension, and the talented slugger could be a member of Toronto for the rest of his career. While the lineup gets a lot of attention for their star power, it has been the starting rotation that has emerged as one of the best in baseball. However, they have been missing a key member since the first week of the season.
Veteran Max Scherzer left after just three innings to start his career with the Blue Jays and he has been on the injured list ever since with a thumb injury. Furthermore, with a second cortisone shot, it appears that he is on the road back. Keegan Matheson of MLB.
com recently wrote about the plan for Scherzer moving forward. “Scherzer will rejoin the Blue Jays on Monday in Houston for their road trip that carries on to New York later next week. The club hopes Scherzer can play catch early in the week, which is the first important test," he wrote.
The next couple of weeks will be key to seeing how quickly Toronto can get the future Hall of Famer back in the rotation. When they signed him, the right-hander figured to be an important veteran presence for the franchise. However, injuries have slowed him down quite a bit in recent years, and father time might be calling.
Even though the Blue Jays have survived in his absence, it has tested the depth of the rotation. As shown by some other teams in the American League East, having healthy starting pitchers is extremely important. Recommended Articles.