Blue Jays’ Plan for Rookie’s Ramp Up May Reveal Reason for Signing Max Scherzer

The Toronto Blue Jays are taking a cautious approach with a young rookie pitcher and that could be the reason for the signing of Max Scherzer.

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer. | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

On the surface, signing Max Scherzer seemed like a superfluous move for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Consider the potential options in the rotation — Dylan Cease, Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage, Cody Ponce, José Berríos and Eric Lauer. Bieber, a former Cy Young winner, is on a slower ramp-up after he came on after the trade deadline in his recovery from Tommy John surgery. He hasn’t yet pitched a full Major League season since the surgery.

But, even if Bieber isn’t ready, Toronto has more than enough on hand, right? Well, there’s another wrinkle that could explain why the Blue Jays were willing to commit to Scherzer for another year at an affordable amount.

The Blue Jays have definite plans for Yesavage as well. Adding Scherzer could help keep Toronto’s potential future ace on course as he prepares for his first full MLB season.

A Blue Jays Piggy-Back Solution?

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Per Ben Nicholson-Smith at SportsNet, the Blue Jays are taking a cautious approach with Yesavage, who threw in three Major League games last regular season but appeared in six playoff games as Toronto reached the World Series.

Yesavage has yet to pitch in a spring training game yet. There’s a reason. Per Nicholson-Smith, the Blue Jays want to have him ready to pitch five or more innings when the regular season begins. It’s a deliberate ramp-up and manager John Schneider told reporters that even if Yesavage can only go four innings, he’ll take it.

The franchise is clearly playing the long game with their top young pitcher. Schneider also made it clear that any build-up Yesavage will be done in the Majors. He isn’t heading back to Triple-A Buffalo.

Knowing that, Scherzer’s value to the starting rotation comes into clearer focus. Scherzer’s signing isn’t official yet and he’s not on the 40-man roster. Once it is, he’ll need time to ramp up as well. The 41-year-old, as competitive as he is, may not be ready for a quality start by the beginning of the season.

Toronto hasn’t said this out loud, but a scenario could develop where Yesavage starts a game, pitches three or four innings and then hands the ball to Scherzer for three innings, who hands the ball to the bullpen. Or, it could be Scherzer starting and Yesavage relieving him. Major League teams usually don’t “piggy-back” starters in the regular season. But the Blue Jays have a unique situation in their rotation.

If their goal is to ease Yesavage into a full workload and give Scherzer time to fully ramp-up, this would be a wise solution that helps both pitchers, eases the workload for the bullpen and helps the Blue Jays win games.