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Blue Jays Announce Disappointing Max Scherzer News on Friday
Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

At 21-22, the Toronto Blue Jays are staying afloat without Max Scherzer (thumb) and Andrés Giménez (quadriceps), two of their core players. However, the club could use a boost, as it's four games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East.

Scherzer has only made one start this season after signing a one-year, $15.5 million deal with the Blue Jays over the winter. The 40-year-old allowed two runs in three innings against the Baltimore Orioles in a 9-5 loss on March 29.

Meanwhile, Giménez is slashing just .195/.273/.305 with three homers and 10 RBI in his first season with Toronto. The club acquired the 26-year-old, who owns a career slash line of .257/.319/.388, from the Cleveland Guardians in December.

The Blue Jays announced updates about both players before their matchup with the Detroit Tigers on Friday, via MLB.com's Keegan Matheson.

"• Plan is for Giménez to start running this weekend, so he'll still need time to ramp up and play a few rehab games. 

• Scherzer is still playing catch, so he needs to get back up to facing live hitters again," he reported.

The fact that Scherzer is still not facing live hitters means that he'll likely be out at least a few more weeks, which isn't ideal for a team that ranks 23rd in baseball with a collective 4.40 ERA. 

The three-time Cy Young Award winner is still effective at full strength, as he notched a 3.95 ERA in nine starts for the Texas Rangers in 2024 and a 3.20 ERA in eight starts for them in 2023, when they won the World Series.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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