<p>Fresh off Thursday&#8217;s off-day, the Toronto Blue Jays provided a long list of injury updates prior to Friday&#8217;s series opener against the Seattle Mariners, including statuses on Max Scherzer, Daulton Varsho and Erik Swanson.</p>
<p>There&#8217;s a lot to unpack here.</p>
<h2>Max Scherzer Receives Another Injection</h2>
<p>Let&#8217;s start with Scherzer, who received his second cortisone injection in his right thumb in Florida earlier this week, manager John Schneider told reporters Friday, including <em>Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s </em>Tyson Shushkewich. The shot was inserted into a different area than where his first one was on Apr. 1.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Max Scherzer received another cortisone shot in his thumb, but in a different spot than the first one.</p>
<p>Slated to rejoin the team later in Houston<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlueJays</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Tyson Shushkewich (@Tyson_MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/Tyson_MLB/status/1913323616814432277?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>The 40-year-old hopes to resume playing catch next week while the team is in Houston. There remains no timetable for when he&#8217;ll throw off a mound again.</p>
<p>Scherzer flew to New York to meet with a hand specialist earlier this month, where they discussed several different treatment options, including surgery, which isn&#8217;t required at this time.</p>
<p>The future Hall-of-Fame hurler departed his only start with the Blue Jays on Mar. 29 after three innings due to right lat soreness caused by his ailing thumb.</p>
<h2>(New Dad) Daulton Varsho Beginning Rehab Assignment This Weekend</h2>
<p>The Blue Jays&#8217; outfield should soon receive a major reinforcement, with Varsho scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with single-A Dunedin this weekend, according to Schneider. He&#8217;s expected to play a few games in Florida before heading to triple-A Buffalo to continue his rehab from shoulder surgery last September, where he could play upwards of five games.</p>
<p>Varsho, whose wife gave birth to a baby girl on Wednesday, has been building up his throwing program since starting the 2025 season on the injured list and has been stretched out to throwing from 200 feet.</p>
<p>If all goes well, the 28-year-old outfielder could rejoin the big-league club either during their upcoming road trip to the Bronx from Apr. 25-27 or upon returning home to face the Boston Red Sox on the 29th.</p>
<p>George Springer, Myles Straw, and Nathan Lukes have all earned reps in centre field during Varsho&#8217;s absence to begin this season.</p>
<p>After hitting four home runs in 12 Grapefruit League games this spring, Varsho&#8217;s return to the lineup could serve as a considerable boost for an offence that enters Friday&#8217;s slate tied for the second-fewest round-trippers (12) in the majors.</p>
<h2>Erik Swanson Throwing Sim Game, Could Soon Begin Rehab Assignment</h2>
<p>Adding to the positive injury news, Swanson (forearm) will take the next step in his rehab by throwing a simulated game in Dunedin on Saturday, per Schneider. After that, the plan is to hopefully have him begin a rehab assignment with the D-Jays at some point next week.</p>
<p>Similar to Varsho, Swanson&#8217;s next step after that will include moving to Buffalo for at least a few outings with the Bisons. Assuming everything runs smoothly, we could be looking at a potential return date of early May for the 31-year-old reliever.</p>
<p>That would be tremendous news for Toronto&#8217;s bullpen, of course, given how meaningful his presence can be at the back end alongside the likes of Chad Green, Yimi García and closer Jeff Hoffman.</p>
<p>Swanson pitched to a 1.32 ERA and 2.14 FIP with 18 strikeouts over his final 13.2 innings of work down the stretch last season. He resembled more of the dominant high-leverage arm he was in 2023 rather than the one whose &#8217;24 first-half woes earned him a triple-A demotion.</p>


Fresh off Thursday's off-day, the Toronto Blue Jays provided a long list of injury updates prior to Friday's series opener against the Seattle Mariners, including statuses on Max Scherzer, Daulton Varsho and Erik Swanson.

There's a lot to unpack here.
<h2>Max Scherzer Receives Another Injection</h2>
Let's start with Scherzer, who received his second cortisone injection in his right thumb in Florida earlier this week, manager John Schneider told reporters Friday, including <em>Blue Jays Nation's </em>Tyson Shushkewich. The shot was inserted into a different area than where his first one was on Apr. 1.

https://twitter.com/Tyson_MLB/status/1913323616814432277

The 40-year-old hopes to resume playing catch next week while the team is in Houston. There remains no timetable for when he'll throw off a mound again.

Scherzer flew to New York to meet with a hand specialist earlier this month, where they discussed several different treatment options, including surgery, which isn't required at this time.

The future Hall-of-Fame hurler departed his only start with the Blue Jays on Mar. 29 after three innings due to right lat soreness caused by his ailing thumb.
<h2>(New Dad) Daulton Varsho Beginning Rehab Assignment This Weekend</h2>
The Blue Jays' outfield should soon receive a major reinforcement, with Varsho scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with single-A Dunedin this weekend, according to Schneider. He's expected to play a few games in Florida before heading to triple-A Buffalo to continue his rehab from shoulder surgery last September, where he could play upwards of five games.

Varsho, whose wife gave birth to a baby girl on Wednesday, has been building up his throwing program since starting the 2025 season on the injured list and has been stretched out to throwing from 200 feet.

If all goes well, the 28-year-old outfielder could rejoin the big-league club either during their upcoming road trip to the Bronx from Apr. 25-27 or upon returning home to face the Boston Red Sox on the 29th.

George Springer, Myles Straw, and Nathan Lukes have all earned reps in centre field during Varsho's absence to begin this season.

After hitting four home runs in 12 Grapefruit League games this spring, Varsho's return to the lineup could serve as a considerable boost for an offence that enters Friday's slate tied for the second-fewest round-trippers (12) in the majors.
<h2>Erik Swanson Throwing Sim Game, Could Soon Begin Rehab Assignment</h2>
Adding to the positive injury news, Swanson (forearm) will take the next step in his rehab by throwing a simulated game in Dunedin on Saturday, per Schneider. After that, the plan is to hopefully have him begin a rehab assignment with the D-Jays at some point next week.

Similar to Varsho, Swanson's next step after that will include moving to Buffalo for at least a few outings with the Bisons. Assuming everything runs smoothly, we could be looking at a potential return date of early May for the 31-year-old reliever.

That would be tremendous news for Toronto's bullpen, of course, given how meaningful his presence can be at the back end alongside the likes of Chad Green, Yimi García and closer Jeff Hoffman.

Swanson pitched to a 1.32 ERA and 2.14 FIP with 18 strikeouts over his final 13.2 innings of work down the stretch last season. He resembled more of the dominant high-leverage arm he was in 2023 rather than the one whose '24 first-half woes earned him a triple-A demotion.

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