How Will Toronto Blue Jays Handle Looming Pitching Issue?

The Toronto Blue Jays have lost pitchers Bowden Francis, Jose Berrios and Cody Ponce for the season already.

Shane Bieber, Max Scherzer and Dylan Cease are currently on the injured list.

But for a team that has been so broken in the rotation for much of the campaign, it’s hard to imagine the following problem: Too much pitching.

But here we are, or at least here we will be soon.

Scherzer threw 73 pitches in a rehab start for Triple-A Buffalo on Friday, signaling he is close to ready to return. Cease threw 75 pitches on Wednesday, signaling he might be ready to return as early as this upcoming week. While Bieber threw just 59 pitches on Saturday and likely needs more time, he is closing in on a return as well, all of a sudden leaving the Jays with an eventual surplus of arms and questions to answer.

Let’s examine.

Once fully healthy, Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage and Cease will be in the starting rotation.

Bieber will be too, given that he’s won a Cy Young award and is making $16 million this season.

Eventually, the Blue Jays will get to a spot where Scherzer, Patrick Corbin and Simeon Woods-Richardson will battle for one spot in the rotation. Of course, with Bieber still a little ways away from returning, there will be two spots open for a little longer, but regardless, all three of these pitchers cannot be long-term answers for the Jays.

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Max Scherzer (31) flips a ball out of his glove before throwing a pitch to the Minnesota Twins during the second inning at Rogers Centre. John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

1) Woods-Richardson has an ERA of almost eight this season and was just acquired for cash considerations from the Minnesota Twins. He’s a fairly disposable part of the roster, but would the Blue Jays want to keep him in the bullpen to see if he can rediscover the form from a seven-win season a a year ago?

2) Corbin has been solid enough, going 2-2 with a 3.98 ERA in 11 starts. He doesn’t go very deep into games (54.1 innings in 11 starts), but he’s been solid and durable. Would the Jays want to keep him in the rotation? Could they add him as another lefty to the bullpen? Would he be open to that?

3) Scherzer has a Hall of Fame resume and a great clubhouse presence, as well as serious playoff experience. But he also has an ERA of over nine this season. Will the Jays give him a starter spot based on history, or do they reward a guy like Corbin, who has pitched well, or a guy like Woods-Richardson, who has youth and upside?

These are things on the minds of Jays executives and the things that need to be figured out over the next few weeks.

The Blue Jays will play the Baltimore Orioles again on Sunday.

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