Berrios’ dominant rehab outing timely amid questions about one Blue Jays starter

If the Toronto Blue Jays can just get a couple of players back healthy they might be able to do some real damage during the month of May. The Blue Jays play four series against division opponents in the season's second month with the Tampa Bay Rays on tap twice (home and away) while Toronto will visit the New York Yankees (May 18-21) and the Baltimore Orioles (May 28-31). Having a couple of guys in the clubhouse who were expected to make the Opening Day roster, but instead started on the Injured List, could do wonders for the Blue Jays in those series.

One of those guys is José Berrios and while the starting pitching really hasn't been the biggest issue plaguing the Blue Jays, the latest outing from the 31-year-old was very encouraging, and could add a much needed layer of depth to the team.

Berrios pitched four shutout innings on Wednesday (Apr. 22) and allowed three hits, no runs, while striking out five batters. He did all of that on 55 pitches, 37 of which were strikes. he averaged 93.5 mph on his fastball and topped out at 94.8. Those are all encouraging signs from Berrios who will likely move up to another minor league level very soon.

And the timing of Berrios getting back on track couldn't have been any better as the Blue Jays look could be dealing with some question marks around Eric Lauer who has been in the spotlight for a few of the wrong reasons over the last week or so.

Lauer getting the wrong kind of attention from manager John Schneider

The Blue Jays' lefty has been at odds with his manager recently on how he was utilized in an outing against the Arizona Diamondbacks last weekend. On Apr. 17, the Blue Jays opted to use an opener for the game before turning to Lauer in the second. He pitched five relatively effective innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits while getting four strikeouts.

After the game, Lauer made his comments about the game very well known saying that he "hated" going in after the opener because it messes with his routine as a starter. Fair point, but it was something that caught manager John Schneider off guard and he responded by reminding everyone who has the final say about roster decisions in the clubhouse.

However, Lauer's words must have struck a chord as he was starting again on his next turn in the rotation, on Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles. Lauer got the ball against the Angels and once again had a typical Lauer stat line of five innings pitched and three earned runs. Good enough to keep the Blue Jays in the game, but his fastball velocity was down so much that baseball savant was actually registering them as changeups.

Lauer has battled through a sickness already this season and while he didn't appear sick on Wednesday, there was something else that caught everyone's attention. Lauer was wearing a type of athletic tape on his neck. He told reporters after the game that it was precautionary, saying, "We're trying to fix some things posture wise.. when I'm sitting, l've been having a little neck issues.. it's more like a reminder to keep my head back and make sure I'm not slouching or anything.”

But once again it caught the manager off guard and Schneider said he didn't know there was any issues with Lauer until he saw the tape on his neck during the game. Lauer then replied that he's been wearing it for a few days but didn't know if the coaching staff had noticed it or not.

If there are issues with Lauer, health wise or other wise, it could be a good time for one of their currently rehabbing pitchers to really make some noise and earn back their roster spot. Lauer has been a valuable asset to the team, but long term, with how his stuff is playing, he's likely better suited for that bullpen role.

For now though, the Blue Jays will hope there is nothing seriously wrong with Lauer's neck and that his velocity can tick back up during his next outing.

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