Blue Jays place Valdez on DL, call Tepesch

Purchased from Twins last month, righty makes spot start as Toronto hurler deals with shoulder injury

August 8th, 2017

TORONTO -- Nick Tepesch will fill one hole in the Blue Jays' rotation, but another starter still has to be found before the end of the week.
Toronto manager John Gibbons announced after Tuesday night's 4-2 win over the Yankees that Tepesch would be recalled from Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday afternoon to start against the Yankees in place of , who was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a right shoulder impingement on Tuesday.
Tepesch was purchased late last month from the Twins. He made three appearances for Triple-A Buffalo and allowed four earned runs over 12 innings. Tepesch last pitched for the Bisons on Aug. 3 and will be fully rested for Wednesday's outing.

"We'll need another one this weekend, too," Gibbons said.
Toronto has been going with a four-man rotation since dealing prior to the non-waiver Trade Deadline, but that will soon come to an end. , J.A. Happ and are currently the only three starters with guaranteed spots. That leaves an opening on Wednesday night, which will be filled by Tepesch, and another one on Saturday afternoon vs. Pittsburgh.
Two pitchers who won't be considered later this week are and . Sanchez has not pitched since July 19 because of a blister on his right middle finger and is not close to a return. Gibbons even ominously stated on Tuesday afternoon that Sanchez will "hopefully" return this season but that "we'll see."
Biagini won't be a viable candidate for at least another week or two. Biagini made 11 starts for Toronto earlier this season before returning to the bullpen. He has since been optioned to Buffalo, where he will once again be stretched out to start, but the Blue Jays want to make sure he gets enough innings under his belt before he's thrown back into the big league fire.
"He needs at least a couple of starts," Gibbons said. "The only reason he was sent down was to build up innings. Just go out there and pitch and command the strike zone. I think at times when he was starting that deserted him a little bit, which we didn't expect. Now he's got the full windup, he's working with that a little bit and felt good with that yesterday. This will give us a better idea of what he is for the future."
Buffalo right-hander Chris Rowley is one logical option to take Saturday's start. Rowley got the start for the Bisons on Monday night, and he has a 2.82 ERA over 10 appearances with the ballclub this season. Saturday would be his regular day to throw and likely makes him the favorite. Buffalo lefty TJ House also could be considered, but that would require him pitching on three days' rest.