Blue Jays option Easton Lucas

While Lucas struggled in his last two starts, giving up 14 runs in 6.2 innings, manager John Schneider said after yesterday's game that the Blue Jays were planning to stick with him.

Clearly things have changed.

The choice to summon Josh Walker is a bit of an interesting one. While his promotion now gives the Blue Jays three lefties, Walker has never started a game in either the major or minor leagues, nor was there any indication that he was being stretched out in Buffalo.

This likely means that the Jays will use some combination of Paxton Schultz and Yariel Rodriguez when that spot comes up again in five days. It is also possible that the team could go with a four man rotation on regular rest until May 3rd.

This also means that Jake Bloss, the top starter in Triple-A, isn't ready for a promotion, which makes sense given his struggles to start the season.

Walker has gotten off to a nice start in Buffalo. Through six games, he has an ERA of 2.57 with two holds and ten strikeouts in seven innings. He'll join Mason Fluharty and Brendon Little to give the Jays a surplus of lefty options in the pen.

Walker has limited big league experience, appearing in 24 games with the New York Mets from 2023-2024. He is 0-1 with a 6.45 ERA.

This could be a temporary short-term move however. The Blue Jays clearly like what they have in Lucas and he could be back in the majors before too long.

The biggest wildcards in all of this are Max Scherzer and Erik Swanson. Both pitchers are on the road to recovery and Walker likely gets option if and when one of them returns.

For now though, Walker will get his shot.