Marcus Stroman Miracle Watch: Rehab begins August 21st

Do you believe in Blue Jays miracles? More importantly: do you believe in Marcus Stroman? Manager John Gibbons told media earlier today that Stroman is progressing towards a rehab assignment that will begin on August 21st. After some confusion over whether or not Stroman had pitched from a mound yet, we learned that the right-hander did flat-ground work today. 


For the many of you that have kept up with Stroman’s rehab through Twitter or Instagram, this shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise. We’re updated daily with images and videos of Stroman throwing, running, and doing several other things that a man just five months removed from a torn ACL shouldn’t be able to do.

With his rehab sting beginning on the 21st of this month, that will give him a very limited timeframe to build back up as the Minor League seasons ends on September 7th. Due to this, you could see him added to a playoff roster to work a few extra games, if the organization deems necessary. Keep the Lansing Lugnuts in mind.

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So, how realistic is all of this? Torn ACLs are fairly uncommon in baseball, especially for a pitcher, but his progress remains lightyears ahead of what the Blue Jays could have reasonably expected. I’ll admit that I even took most of his social media posts as another version of classic “athlete twitter”. Talking about their “grind”, updating us on workouts, etc. Turns out I was wrong, and that’s just fine.

I’ll caution you all to keep your expectations very low and bear in mind that we’re discussing Stroman’s return under a very strong use of the word if. But if he’s able to climb back onto this 25-man roster, we also need to face the question of whether or not his game would be back to the level Toronto needs. This is a playoff run, and the Jays can’t afford to let their heart step in front of their head.

Thankfully, Stroman’s pitching style should lend itself well to a relief role (I can’t possibly seeing him build up to starter’s innings). Much like his friend Aaron Sanchez, Stroman could attack the zone with his electrifying movement, and perhaps add yet another strikeout arm to an already-impressive bullpen group.

While I’ll need to see it to believe it, but the Blue Jays at least seem open to the idea of his return, and Marcus Stroman is one of the last people on this planet I’d bet against.

Next: Roemon Fields a Blue Jay to watch come September

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• Blue Jays: Adam Cimber, the unlikely decision King