Blue Jays in holding pattern after latest Max Scherzer injury update

The latest injury update for Max Scherzer brought about some good and bad news for the Toronto Blue Jays.

The good news is that the update wasn't horrible; he received a cortisone shot and could play catch soon.

But that still doesn't mean there isn't bad news. Despite only being a week into the season, the Blue Jays' rotation is stuck in a holding patten while the team figures out the next moves with Scherzer.

Will that eventually come back to bite them?

Blue Jays in holding pattern after latest Max Scherzer injury update

As of now, the answer to that question is an emphatic 'no' thanks to an electric start from Easton Lucas on Wednesday, as he tossed five scoreless innings in a win over the Nationals. Lucas was recalled from Triple-A to fill Scherzer's spot in the rotation, and held the Nationals' lineup in check by limiting hard contact.

Still, it might still be too early to write Lucas' name into the rotation with pen. He entered Wednesday with a career MLB ERA of 9.82 with three different teams. But he's earned at least one more turn through the rotation.

It still remains to be seen exactly how many of those turns through the rotation will need to be filled while Scherzer is on the shelf.

It's an injury I just can't pitch through,” Scherzer told reporters Thursday, per Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith. “That (thumb) joint, the ligament, everything around there is critical. The rest of the body is completely dependent on the health of that (area). You can't just override and pitch through that pain because once that's compromised, it compromises the rest of your arm. That’s why I had different ailments with my shoulder and back. It’s all related to the thumb.”

Scherzer then went on to say that he visited Dr. Thomas Graham and that Graham said that he was "pleasantly surprised" by his thumb, and that there's no need to consider surgery as of now.

Manager John Schneider followed that up by saying that he hoped Scherzer's absence shouldn't be "too long," but that there wasn't a set date or timeline for his return.

Reading between the lines, it seems like the Blue Jays will be without Scherzer for most of April, and potentially some of May. Once he's able to get back to throwing with intensity, he'll need to build himself up through bullpens and up-downs before likely heading out on a rehab assignment.

He made three rehab apperances at Triple-A last year in April with the Rangers while he worked his way back from his spring training injury and one in September after his second injury of the year.

While Toronto is short on MLB pitching depth, it makes no sense to rush Scherzer back. And, if Lucas continues to pitch well, there should be less of an urge to rush Scherzer back.

Yariel Rodríguez is another player who stood out as an obvious choice to replace Scherzer in the rotation, but he's already made three appearances out of the bullpen — one of which came after Scherzer's injury.

He racked up two strikeouts in his scoreless inning against the Orioles on March 31 on Monday (an outing that Schneider called Rodríguez's "best professional inning"). The Blue Jays paid Rodríguez to be a starter, but he was okay last year in the role (4.47 ERA) so his best fit might be in the bullpen.

The Triple-A rotation is currently comprised of Jake Bloss, Lazaro Estrada, Eric Lauer and Trenton Wallace, with Bloss being the only one of those players currently on the 40-man roster.

But again, if Lucas continues to shove, then all this becomes a moot point. But if he struggles, expect the Blue Jays rotation to continue to be a talking point until Scherzer comes back.