Buchholz's road to Toronto runs via Buffalo

CLEVELAND -- Clay Buchholz is tentatively scheduled to begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Buffalo on Sunday afternoon.

Buchholz is expected to throw 75-to-80 pitches. Depending on how his outing goes, he might be in a position to join the Blue Jays a few days later.

The 34-year-old right-hander is technically on the injured list with a right flexor strain but he's not really hurt now. Buchholz's 2018 season was cut short with that injury, but this year he had a delayed start to the year because he didn't sign until early March.

"It was his idea, he wanted to do it in Buffalo," said Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo, who gave him the option of starting in Florida.

Buchholz likely will take the spot of left-hander Thomas Pannone, who is scheduled to start Saturday afternoon in Cleveland. Rookie Trent Thornton should be able to hang onto his spot at least until lefty Ryan Borucki returns at some point in late April or early May after dealing with left elbow soreness.

The revolving door

Montoyo went with a different leadoff hitter for the fourth time in nine games on Friday night with outfielder Socrates Brito hitting out of the top spot. Brito was a curious choice to hit first because he has an on-base percentage of .223 in 83 career games at the Major League level (though he had a standout diving catch in the outfield in the first inning).

The Blue Jays acquired Brito from the Padres earlier this week, shortly after trading Kevin Pillar to the Giants. Brito has the speed a lot of teams like at the top of the order, but he only stole 15 bases in 114 games at Triple-A Reno last season.

"I want to find out about this kid," Montoyo said. "He has all the tools to be a good big league player for a long time. I want to give him at-bats. I want to play him and see what he can do. That's the reason he's leading off. He'll be great leading off. He can run. Let's find out."

Smoak scratched

First baseman Justin Smoak was a late scratch from the Blue Jays' lineup for the second consecutive game on Friday because of a sore neck. Smoak was pulled from the lineup approximately 45 minutes prior to first pitch after going through a couple of rounds of batting practice.

Rowdy Tellez moved from designated hitter to first base while Billy McKinney was inserted into the lineup at DH. Smoak was a late scratch from Thursday's series opener because of the same injury. He is considered day to day and remains questionable for Saturday afternoon.