Should the Toronto Blue Jays be aggressive on the rotation market?

The Blue Jays may be waiting for Max Scherzer to return to the rotation. But they're not waving a white flag every fifth day.

In fact, manager John Schneider and his staff might be doing some of their best work during those Scherzer-less ballgames.

Addison Barger and George Springer homered on Friday as the Blue Jays overcame an early three-run deficit to beat the Twins, 6-4, at Target Field.

Toronto used six pitchers on the night, with starter Paxton Schultz giving up three runs in two innings.

It was a loud first time through the order, as four of the first nine Twins batters hit balls with exit velocities of more than 100 mph.

But Eric Lauer (2-1) came on and threw ice water on the Twins' bats, keeping them at bay while the offense rallied for the win.

Lauer was the key to the six-man band on the mound Friday night, but credit Schneider and pitching coach Pete Walker for pushing the right buttons at the right times.

Asked if he embraced the challenge of a bullpen game, Schneider laughed and said, «When it works out, it's fun. I think you have to, and I think the guys in the 'pen have embraced it too.»

Rather than just holding their breath and crossing off days on the calendar until Scherzer's return, the Blue Jays have taken advantage of their bullpen weapons to find the right approach every fifth day.

However no matter how good your relievers are this 'bullpen day' every fifth start surly isn't sustainable over the long haul.

Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt are both solid veterans who can be trusted to start a playoff game, and Jose Berrios is getting good results despite worrisome peripherals for the second year in a row.

After that trio, however, things start to look dire. Bowden Francis has been one of the worst qualified starters in baseball this year, and the team has no defined fifth starter at all for the moment.

Alek Manoah and Max Scherzer could both contribute at some point in theory, but they've similarly dealt with injuries that have made them major question marks in recent years.

What if god forbid Scherzer's rehab doesn't go well or he gets hurt again down the stretch?

Alek Manoah is due back in august and hopefully he can pitch like he knows how but what if it takes him more time to get back to the MLB level.

That is a lot of if's and but's.

Spencer Turnbull is coming to help out sooner or later, but relying on a pitcher who last made even 20 appearances back in 2019 to help turn things around is risky.

For Toronto, one could argue that the question is less about whether or not they need another starter, but whether or not they'll remain firmly enough in contention to justify the expense come July.

Should the Toronto Blue Jays be aggressive on the rotation market by the trade deadline?

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