Wave of reinforcements could reshape Blue Jays' pitching outlook
ATLANTA — The Worcester Red Sox are in for quite a challenge this weekend, when two Cy Young winners and a runner-up for the award are expected to visit with the Toronto Blue Jays’ triple-A affiliate.
Dylan Cease is slated to start in Worcester Thursday with Max Scherzer set to follow him Friday for the Buffalo Bisons. While Shane Bieber’s next start date hasn’t been locked in, it’s possible he’ll follow his rehabbing teammates and pitch Saturday or Sunday.
All told, it will be a challenging weekend for Boston’s top minor-leaguers. More importantly for the Blue Jays, this development shows that their veteran starters are getting closer to helping a rotation that features only three starters while also easing the strain on a bullpen that’s taking on more than its share of work.
Cease (hamstring) was slated to throw a bullpen session Tuesday at Truist Park while doing some running and agility work. If all goes well, he’ll proceed to Worcester, where he’ll be able to build back up relatively quickly.
“It’s possible it could be one-and-done,” said Blue........
