With his return imminent, Marcus Stroman decision looms for Blue Jays 
It was believed the torn ACL Marcus Stroman suffered early in spring training would sideline him for the entire season, but here we are in September, and Stroman is ready to return to a major-league mound. Where he fits in the Toronto Blue Jays’ plans down the stretch and in the playoffs is the next question that needs to be answered.
On Tuesday, we got an idea what they’re going to do. Blue Jays manager John Gibbons confirmed on MLB Network that Stroman would step in for Mark Buehrle and start for Toronto on Saturday at Yankee Stadium. Talk about being thrown straight into the fire.
Since making a flurry of moves before the trade deadline, including the surprise acquisition of David Price, the Blue Jays have been riding a wave all the way to the top of the American League East. Heading into Tuesday’s games, Toronto holds a slim half-game advantage over the New York, and a massive four-game series between the two starts Thursday night.
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Even a team as hot as the Blue Jays have been over the last few weeks could benefit from adding a dynamic arm like Stroman to the staff. Before the injury, there was great hope that this season he would build off his promising 2014 rookie campaign, where he posted a 3.29 ERA in 20 starts.
Stroman’s pitching line in his Triple-A rehab start Monday wasn’t exactly encouraging, but despite giving up four runs on eight hits and four walks in just three innings, the 24-year-old right-hander remained upbeat.
“My arm felt great, knee felt great. The results didn’t say so but my stuff felt unreal,” Stroman said. “I know people are going to say, ‘oh, he didn’t have a good start.’ But stuff-wise, arm-wise, knee-wise, health-wise—I’m ready to go.”
“I don’t know what the call is. I don’t know what the next play is. But I’m ready to start. My arm’s ready,” Stroman said. “I feel great. It’s just a matter of getting into my bullpen and fine-tuning. I’ll be ready to go.”
Buehrle hasn’t pitched all that well lately (5.81 ERA over his last five starts), and has reportedly been battling through various aches and pains, but he’s a well-respected veteran and has a long track record of success. With Buehrle indeed being skipped Saturday, there’s the possibility it’s just a one-off.
Another pitcher in peril of losing his rotation spot to Stroman is Drew Hutchison, who’s been better recently but still has an unflattering 5.07 ERA overall.
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There still the outside chance that Stroman could come back as a reliever after making Saturday’s start. The back-end of the bullpen is already strong with Roberto Osuna, Aaron Sanchez, LaTroy Hawkins, Mark Lowe and Brett Cecil. Adding Stroman to that mix would make the group even more dangerous.
A playoff rotation of Price, Stroman, R.A. Dickey, and either Buehrle or Marco Estrada sure sounds enticing though. Of course, the Blue Jays would like to get to the postseason as the division winner and avoid the wild-card game, which also factors into what they do with Stroman in the short-term.
These are the kind of big choices teams in a playoff push have to make at this time of year. For a team like Toronto that hasn’t played in the postseason since 1993, they’ll be happy to make a decision, even if it proves to be a difficult one.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
