The Blue Jays' fight to stay in the American League Wild Card race may have been dealt a substantial blow, as the club announced Sunday that right-hander Dylan Cease had been sent back to Toronto for an MRI on his pitching shoulder on Saturday.
Although the Blue Jays were still awaiting results at the time of the announcement, Cease has already been scratched from his scheduled Wednesday start against the Orioles. Manager John Schneider was not yet willing to rule out the possibility of his ace returning during Toronto's final regular season series against the Reds.
Cease has reportedly been dealing with fatigue for a few weeks and is coming off a rough outing on Friday in which he threw 74 pitches over 2 2/3 innings of work. He allowed four runs (one earned) on three hits alongside a season-high six walks in a 7-1 loss to the Rangers.
On the year, Cease is 11-6 with a 2.40 ERA and entered play on Sunday leading the American League with 239 strikeouts.