SARASOTA, Fla. – Seeking rotation reinforcements in the aftermath of Marcus Stroman’s season-ending knee injury, the Toronto Blue Jays will stretch out minor league starter Scott Copeland.
Copeland, a 27-year-old right-hander, pitched a scoreless inning Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles. He’ll now take three days off before starting Sunday to ensure the Blue Jays have a variety of options.
“We’ll stretch him out a little bit,” manager John Gibbons said.
Copeland posted a 3.45 ERA between double-A New Hampshire and triple-A Buffalo in 2014, appearing in 31 games, including 26 starts. The former 21st-round pick of the Baltimore Orioles struck out 105 while walking 55 and allowing 159 hits in 164.1 innings.
The Blue Jays must fill two spots in their rotation beyond R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle and Drew Hutchison. Aaron Sanchez and Daniel Norris are getting strong consideration for those roles along with Marco Estrada, but stretching out Copeland provides Toronto with another option.
