Blue Jays' Stroman unlikely to pitch again this season
Marcus Stroman's battle with blisters appears to be over, and it looks like he came out on the losing end.
Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said Stroman will "probably not" pitch again this year, according to Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith.
The 27-year-old has expressed a desire to pitch through the problem, but with 18 games left on Toronto's schedule, his chances of doing so appear to be slim.
"You won't see him probably pitch, I wouldn't think," Gibbons said prior to Tuesday's 7-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox, according to MLB.com's Craig Forde. "But he might. He's getting a little far removed from last time when he went on the DL with it. He threw a side (session), pitched a game, and it's almost a month now. Now he's going to have to build back up, and I don't know how smart that would be. For what?"
Stroman has dealt with blister issues on his throwing hand several times throughout the year.
"It’s just out of your control," Stroman said of trying to manage the blister in August, according to Sportsnet's Shi Davidi. "I killed myself to be back this year, to get my shoulder right, and it’s finally getting to the point where it feels great and to have this pop up – it sucks. It’s something I have to deal with, it’s something I’ll get through."
He last pitched on Sept. 3 after a stint on the disabled list with the ailment, allowing four earned runs and six hits in just 1 2/3 innings.
Overall, he's 4-9 with a 5.54 ERA and 1.48 WHIP in 19 starts this season.