Blue Jays: There are plenty of external pitching candidates still available

There are plenty of external pitching candidates readily available if the Toronto Blue Jays opt to look outside of the organization to shore up their starting rotation.

The Blue Jays may be in the hunt to find an adequate replacement for Matt Shoemaker who was just shelved for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. If the likes of Sam Gaviglio and Thomas Pannone don’t answer the bell, the Jays could find an arm on the open market.

Sean Reid-Foley or Jacob Waguespack could be internal options from the farm although Reid-Foley has been absolutely obliterated in Triple-A thus far in three games.

The status of Aaron Sanchez is also unknown after the hurler exited his last start in the fourth inning with an apparent broken fingernail. Sanchez has a history of blister issues that have derailed his last two seasons.

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Injured starter Clayton Richard has yet to make a start for the Jays and continues to rehab a stress reaction in his knee. Richard was acquired during the offseason and initially penciled into the rotation but a timeline for this return is still unclear.

Dallas Keuchel still has draft pick compensation attached to him until after the amateur draft so he realistically is not an option for the Blue Jays at this time. However, names like Gio Gonzalez, Bartolo Colon or James Shields could be a stop gap for the remainder of the 2019 campaign.

Gonzales just opted out of his contract with the New York Yankees after posting a 6.00 earned run average in three starts with the Yankees Triple-A affiliate. The 33-year old split last season between the Nationals and Brewers posting a 4.21 earned run average in 32 starts.

Yovani Gallardo, Chris Tillman, and Miguel Gonzalez are also all still lurking on the free agent market as well.

There is no telling where the Jays brain trust will look to plug the hole but at least there are options readily available for them.