It was a debut to forget for Max Scherzer and Blue Jays fans alike as the veteran hurler was forced out of his 1st start for his new club after just 3 innings due to right lat soreness.
After allowing two home runs to the Orioles in the first inning, Scherzer settled down, but lasted only 45 pitches before being pulled from the game at the conclusion of the third inning. The 40 year old could be seen exchanging words with the Blue Jays coaching staff, as Scherzer was visibly upset with how his body reacted to its first taste of regular season baseball on the year.
Prior to the lat injury, Scherzer told team medical staff that his thumb was giving him trouble. This resulted in one of his spring training starts being pushed back. In speaking with reporters after the game, Scherzer alluded to his thumb once again causing issues in his overall pitching form.
“The thumb is absolutely critical to your arm health,” he said. “I’ve got to get this 100% before I pitch again.” With no clear timeline for him to return to baseball activities, Toronto appears to be kicking off the 2025 MLB campaign with a sizeable hole in their rotation already.
Signed to a 1 year, $15.5M deal in the offseason, expectations were high that the Jays could potentially lean on their pitching staff to help them navigate the ultra competitive AL East in the early going. However, with a potential IL stint incoming for their former Cy Young winner, it will be interesting to see how the Jays fill the void in Scherzer’s absence.
Yariel Rodriguez, Eric Lauer and Jake Bloss appear to be internal options for Toronto for the time being, though a call up isn’t out of the question either. Whatever the outcome, the Jays will need to rally in relatively short order as their depleted bullpen has another date with Baltimore on the docket for 1:37pm ET on Sunday.
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