BOSTON -- The Blue Jays still aren't sure whether Marcus Stroman will be able to make his next scheduled start on Friday night against the Tigers.
Stroman will undergo several tests on Thursday when the Blue Jays return to Toronto following a seven-game road trip that ended with Wednesday's 6-1 loss to the Red Sox. Stroman will meet with the medical staff and pitching coach Pete Walker at Rogers Centre before a final determination is made.
Stroman, 26, left his last outing against Baltimore in the second inning after he was struck on the elbow by a line drive off the bat of Mark Trumbo. He was sent for X-rays, which came back negative, but there was some swelling in the area that put his status in doubt.
"To be determined," Blue Jays acting manager DeMarlo Hale said. "I think he's going to come in and do some things tomorrow. He says he feels pretty good, but we have some time to make that decision. It will probably be made [Thursday], once he comes in and does a little bit of activity throwing."
If Stroman is unable to go, the Blue Jays have a few options at their disposal. With an off-day on Thursday, they could opt to move lefty Brett Anderson up a day and have him start on Friday instead of Saturday afternoon. J.A. Happ would then start Saturday and allow Stroman to have at least a couple of extra days of rest.
Another scenario would see the Blue Jays start Luis Santos or Chris Rowley. Both pitchers joined the ballclub earlier this month as September callups and appeared in Tuesday's 19-inning loss to the Red Sox. Santos tossed two innings in that game, and Rowley pitched three. With a fully rested 'pen following Thursday's off-day, either righty could make an abbreviated start before handing it over to the relievers.
"We haven't discussed that yet," Hale said. "It's possible that we could go with maybe Santos depending on how he feels or with the off-day we can bump people up. That will be something we discuss after the situation with Stroman tomorrow."
Regardless of what happens with Stroman, his injury is not considered serious. The only real debate is whether he makes a regularly scheduled start or instead has one outing skipped and pushed back to later in the month.
"You don't want to rush that, but you also understand the competitive nature of Stroman. If he feels good, he'll start," Hale said. "Tomorrow will be a big day when he comes in and gets more treatment and does a little bit more throwing."