How the Blue Jays’ starting rotation could be impacted by Max Scherzer’s injury

Ah, here we are again. 

After making it through spring training mostly unscathed, the injury bug has popped up for the Blue Jays in a way that could have a serious impact on the rest of the roster. 

That injury bug hit veteran starter Max Scherzer, who is dealing with a thumb injury that could impact his availability for Opening Day.

Max Scherzer’s injury could have a lasting impact on the Blue Jays’ roster

Scherzer, who signed a one-year contract with the Blue Jays in the offseason, is one of the best pitchers of the past generation. 

He’s also 40-years-old and coming off a serious injury — two things that have been extremely evident over the past week. 

Scherzer’s been lights out this spring (one earned run allowed in seven innings), which has led to Blue Jays’ fans dreaming about getting a strong season out of the future Hall of Famer.

And he didn’t do anything to dispel those dreams in his last outing when he tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings against the Tigers on March 8. 

But then the dream began to unravel. Four days after that start, the Blue Jays announced that Scherzer would miss his next start with a thumb injury, which initially seemed to be a move done more out of an abundance of caution than anything else. 

We finally got some more intel on the injury this weekend, and the updates were a bit scary. 

Although Scherzer has been able to face against minor league hitters in a simulated game, he says the issue flares up for him around 50 pitches, which is obviously a bit of a concern considering he’s a starting pitcher. 

If he can't clear the 50-pitch hurdle this week, he likely won't be much further along next week when Opening Day rolls around.

“My thumb hurts. It hurts to grip the ball,” Scherzer said, per MLB.com's Keegan Matheson. “The critical thing I’ve learned over the years here is that your thumb is absolutely critical to your arm health. Unfortunately, this is what I’ve been dealing with since 2023.”

On Tuesday, Scherzer said that he was still day-to-day with the injury.

As noted by Matheson, that thumb injury led to Scherzer suffering a strain of his teres major that occurred while he was pitching in Toronto. And last year he only made nine starts in large part to a nerve issue that started in his thumb. 

If Scherzer isn’t ready for Opening Day, the next logical step would likely be to insert Yariel Rodríguez into the rotation after he spent all of camp stretched out as a starter. 

While he’s had a rough spring (9.31 ERA in 9 2/3 innings) and would likely be better suited in the bullpen, he could work as a starter in the short-term. 

It also moves up everyone else in the rotation. We already know that José Berríos will get the start on Opening Day while Kevin Gausman will get the nod in the second game of the season. The rest of the rotation after that will consist of Chris Bassitt, Bowden Francis and then whoever fills the fifth spot. 

Outside of Rodríguez, the other main option who could slot into the rotation is Jake Bloss, who was acquired in exchange for Yusei Kikuchi at last year’s trade deadline. 

Bloss has a 9.00 ERA in eight innings this spring, and would likely start the season in Triple-A Buffalo if Scherzer is good to go on Opening Day.

How does Scherzer’s injury impact the rest of the roster?

The injury bug has also made its way to the bullpen, as both Ryan Burr and Erik Swanson are in danger of missing Opening Day due to injuries. 

The team responded to that injury on Monday by selecting right-handed reliever Richard Lovelady to the 40-man roster. They cleared a roster spot by placing Alex Manoah on the 60-day injured list, which was expected as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. 

Neither Burr or Swanson have been placed on the injured list just yet (there’s no 15-day IL in the spring), but both of their Opening Days could be in jeopardy.

The only other impact would come from the potential promotion of Rodríguez to the rotation. He can’t be sent down the minors without his consent, so he was going to end up with the Blue Jays one way or another.

If he’s in the rotation, that could free up another bullpen spot, potentially for an out of option player like Zach Pop or Tommy Nance. 

Scherzer’s injury shouldn’t have much of an impact on the position players on the roster. Daulton Varsho is the only everyday position player who could start the year on the injured list, but his stay on the injured list should be short.

If Scherzer’s injury ends up being serious, Toronto could place him on the 60-day injured list to free up a roster spot for Alan Roden or Myles Straw. But it seems like we aren’t anywhere near that being the case.