It appears the Toronto Blue Jays have cleared up some uncertainty surrounding their starting rotation.
In a guest appearance on Baseball Central Tuesday afternoon, pitching coach Pete Walker confirmed that the Blue Jays will be moving Drew Hutchison to the bullpen for the time being and the club will start Marco Estrada Thursday against the Atlanta Braves.
“(Hutchison), for the team being, will be in the bullpen,” Walker told co-hosts Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker. “It’s a move that we made. That doesn’t mean it’s how it’s going to play out but Hutch could certainly make more starts for this group down the stretch. But for this series any way, and moving forward, he’ll be in the (bullpen).”
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The Blue Jays had yet to announce a starter for Thursday’s game as the club had to decide between Hutchison, Estrada, and right-hander Marcus Stroman, who made his season debut with the Blue Jays this past Saturday.
Hutchison appears to be the odd man out of the rotation now that the club has five other viable starters with Mark Buehrle returning to the mound on Tuesday.
The right-hander has struggled of late, allowing 12 earned runs and five home runs over his last 8.1 innings.
He made 27 starts for the Blue Jays this season, registering a troublesome 5.33 ERA with 127 strikeouts 42 walks and 20 home runs allowed in 147 innings.
Estrada, who pitched the first leg on Saturday’s doubleheader against the New York Yankees, will be working on his regular four-days’ rest because of the team’s off-day on Monday.
“We think Marco will be ready for that start,” Walker said. “And it puts in a good position going into the Boston series.”
The veteran right-hander is 12-8 with a 3.31 ERA, 113 strikeouts, 21 home runs allowed in 151.2 innings this season for the Blue Jays. He has made 24 starts and has already exceeded his career-high in innings pitched.
However, Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports expressed concern that Estrada’s production could fade down the stretch of the season.
“(He’s been a) swing guy in the bullpen (and) rotation,” Morosi said Tuesday on Dean Blundell & Co. “When you’re that type of pitcher, you don’t usually accumulate those kind of innings. (It’s) uncharted territory from the standpoint of his arm. His pace wasn’t great on Saturday and he left some (pitches) over the zone that got hit very well.”
