How the Blue Jays "big three" could still line up for their series against the Dodgers

The Toronto Blue Jays have a massive series on the horizon when they host the Los Angeles Dodgers for a World Series rematch early next week. However, they'll first have to travel to Chicago to face the White Sox in a three-game set, which has become a bit more of a roadblock given Cody Ponce's injury and Thursday's postponement.

The Blue Jays' plan heading out of Spring Training was to have Max Scherzer, Kevin Gausman, and Dylan Cease take on the loaded Dodgers lineup. It isn't a bad plan considering the success Scherzer and Gausman had against their stars in the World Series. It looked like those plans might have to change with the circumstances surrounding the White Sox series. However, MLB Insider Jon Morosi believes that manager John Schneider and pitching coach Pete Walker are still planning for their "big three" to take the mound.

The call-up of Lazaro Estrada likely finalizes the call-up scenario for Sunday's game, with Cease and Eric Lauer slated to start on Friday and Saturday. That would set up Scherzer to take the mound for Game 1, Gausman for Game 2, and Cease again for Game 3.

Estrada's initial introduction to the Blue Jays fanbase wasn't the greatest, as his call-up last season didn't go well. He appeared in two regular season games, surrendering seven runs on 10 hits and one walk across 7.1 innings of work. He had 10 strikeouts and also hit two batters.

Estrada might not be the long-term option for the Blue Jays, but Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber, and José Berrios have all had positive injury updates over the past week. If they can get through the White Sox series unscathed, they'll be even closer to the starting rotation being healthy enough to wheel out at least five capable starters.

Blue Jays-Dodgers will reignite a tense rivalry

If it isn't going to be hard enough seeing the Dodgers re-enter the Rogers Centre after last year's heartbreak, watching Scherzer and Gausman take the mound will be a harsh reminder of what could've been.

The Blue Jays had a chance to finish the job in Game 6 at the Rogers Centre with Gausman on the mound, and the team's ace delivered with six solid innings, allowing just three earned runs. It was Toronto's way of going all-in with their top arm, as the only starter they had left was Scherzer, who had just two postseason starts for the Blue Jays before Game 7. However, Yoshinobu Yamamoto outlasted Gausman to put the ball in Scherzer's hands.

Any doubts about Scherzer shouldn't have been there, as one of the biggest gamers of all time pitched 4.1 innings of four-hit ball, allowing just one earned run. He did enough to get the Blue Jays their championship, but the Dodgers won the game in extra innings for the second time in a Scherzer start in the series.

Cease may not have been there for the World Series, but he is the pitcher most familiar with the Dodgers after two seasons in the National League West with the San Diego Padres. If there were three pitchers best suited to deal Los Angeles some payback, it's the three the Blue Jays have set up to go at the Rogers Centre next week.