Cease will be making his first start since being placed on the injured list with left hamstring discomfort following his May 24th outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Scherzer, meanwhile, will return after landing on the IL with right forearm soreness and an inflamed right ankle following a rough start against the Cleveland Guardians on April 30.
With both pitchers returning to the rotation and additional reinforcements expected to join the team soon, roster moves will be necessary. Case in point: the Blue Jays designated Yariel Rodriguez for assignment ahead of Monday’s game to make room for the returning Tommy Nance. As it currently stands, the Jays have 39 players on the 40-man roster.
With two major arms set to return shortly, who could be the next players removed from the roster?
Connor Seabold
Seabold owns an 8.10 ERA across five appearances with the club, which has been far from ideal. Given that he has primarily been used in low-leverage situations, there is a strong case for cutting him loose, especially with Tommy Nance now back on the roster.
Seabold was essentially acquired to provide additional pitching depth when Cease went down with an injury, so severing ties with him could be a relatively easy decision. A 30-year-old pitcher carrying a career 7.30 ERA may not be the type of arm a contending team wants to rely on as the season progresses. He is out of options but has less than three years of service time, so unless he is claimed via waivers, traded, or released, he will be heading to Buffalo.
Simeon Woods Richardson
The Jose Berrios trade has come somewhat full circle.
Woods Richardson made his debut with the Jays yesterday and was stellar across four innings of work. He limited the Phillies to just one hit through the outing with three strikeouts, and helped save the bullpen for Cease and Scherzer’s upcoming starts.
If the Jays didn’t already have a long man in the bullpen in Spencer Miles, then Woods Richardson would be the guy. However, similar to Seabold, he is out of options. The right-hander could be a DFA option, and then be sent to Buffalo unless he is picked up on waivers, traded, or released.
Adam Macko
Ideally, this is the least likely move given how thin the Blue Jays’ left-handed pitching depth currently is.
Despite experiencing command issues and elevated walk totals in the minor leagues, Macko has issued just two walks so far in his major-league career.
His pitches have also generated impressive whiff rates. His slider owns a 36.6% whiff rate, while his curveball has produced a remarkable 60% whiff rate. Macko has also accumulated 0.4 WAR in a relatively small sample size.
The argument for sending him down would be to stretch him out and allow him to build up more innings. However, given how injury-riddled the bullpen has been, it would be wiser to keep Macko in the majors and continue building his confidence. That is especially true with Joe Mantiply expected to miss significant time due to a knee injury.