Taillon makes 1st rehab start, could return to Blue Jays soon

TORONTO -- Friday was a busy night for rehabbing big leaguers with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, headlined by starter Jameson Taillon.

Working his way back from right forearm tendinitis, Taillon may only need the long rehab appearance before returning to the Blue Jays, who are still trying to elbow their way back into the AL Wild Card race.

Infielder Josh Smith (left hamstring) also played in Friday night’s game, his second in a row with the Bisons. Smith may stick with the Bisons for another day or two to get more at-bats, but he is expected to be back with the Blue Jays on Sept. 1, when rosters expand, at the latest.

How did Taillon perform?

Taillon breezed through the first three innings on less than 30 pitches, but ran into trouble in the fourth inning. He ended with four runs charged over 3 1/3 innings, which included three hits, two walks and two strikeouts.

Taillon’s velocities were slightly below his MLB averages from this season, which can be “normal” in these Triple-A rehab appearances, but the Blue Jays will need to determine how much that final inning matters. Up until then, Taillon worked extremely quickly and filled up the strike zone.

He ended the night with 48 pitches, which should set him up to throw over 60 next time out.

What’s next?

The Blue Jays would like to slide Taillon right back into their rotation the next time through, even if he’s not fully built up. That’s essentially what they’ve done recently with Spencer Arrighetti, who came off the IL and gave the Blue Jays pitch counts of 61 and 79 his first two outings.

There’s room for the Blue Jays to use Monday’s off-day and tinker with their rotation, but at the very least, Taillon is not here to be another bulk option out of the bullpen. He’s expected to start.

What are they saying?

We’ve seen Taillon twice in a Blue Jays uniform, a pair of four-inning appearances. His second was a clear step forward, too, holding the Red Sox scoreless.

Taillon had struggled with the Cubs earlier this season prior to the trade, but the Blue Jays believed that a mental refresh could help the longtime big leaguer get back on track. This is exactly what Taillon highlighted when he met with the media for the first time following that trade, an open and honest critique of his own season to that point.

“I got to a point where I was pitching a little timid,” Taillon said. “That’s not me. I was thinking about the worst-case scenario sometimes. ... 'I want to get ahead, but I don’t want to leak this towards the middle and give up another home run,' so I was out there with those thoughts. That’s just a horrible place to be. That’s the human side, so getting to take a step back and getting a fresh start, I want to get back to who I am, which is filling up the zone with six pitches and being super aggressive.”

What else?

On Thursday, the Blue Jays signed 12-year veteran Michael Lorenzen, who’d recently been released by the Rockies after a difficult season in their rotation (7.08 ERA).

Lorenzen was thrown right into the fire, coming out of the bullpen in the 13-2 blowout loss to the Royals on Thursday, but he’ll be available in any role the Blue Jays need. It still feels like the Blue Jays want to get Taillon back as quickly as possible, but if they need additional time for any reason, Lorenzen is an option along with CJ Van Eyk or Chad Dallas for length.