Lauer, fellow pitchers ready to be flexible as Bieber joins rotation

TORONTO -- The first decision has been made in the Blue Jays’ rotation, but this puzzle is far from finished.

Eric Lauer will be available out of the Blue Jays’ bullpen this weekend in Miami, beginning Friday when Shane Bieber makes his Blue Jays debut. Don’t call it a move to the bullpen, though. Manager John Schneider hammered that point multiple times prior to Wednesday’s 2-1 loss in Pittsburgh, calling this a “fluid” plan that could change each week.

This decision -- or this string of decisions -- has hung over the Blue Jays since they landed Bieber at the Trade Deadline. While he has rounded out his final rehab starts from Tommy John surgery, Schneider, pitching coach Pete Walker and Toronto’s staff have checked in regularly with everyone involved.

“Everyone is deserving to be in this rotation, and everyone is deserving to pitch,” Schneider said. “The biggest thing is that we’ve had multiple conversations with all of them and they all land in the same spot, which is, ‘We just want to win.’ Good teams have tough conversations sometimes, and this is definitely one of them. But they all understand how flexible they have to be.”

Like Schneider alludes to, nothing about Lauer’s season deserves to be bumped from the rotation, but that’s not necessarily what’s happening here.

“I’m still treating it as a start because I’m available for length, kind of like I was before. It’s the same deal,” Lauer said. “Then, I believe, next time through I should be back in the rotation. I believe that’s the plan. Keep length and stay with that, but it just works out to where we land on the same day.

“[Bieber] needs to go on his normal rest, and I can be malleable. It’s just a short-term plan right now, and it’s fluid. They told me to plan on still being in the rotation.”

There are certain pitchers who need to be locked into a schedule and others who can be more flexible. Given Bieber’s recent rehab, the Blue Jays are wise to chart out his schedule first, then work other starters around that. If his next start day lands on Chris Bassitt’s day or José Berríos’, then perhaps they spend one turn as “available for length out of the bullpen.”

The Blue Jays could also choose to be a bit more rigid with Max Scherzer’s scheduling. He has gotten past the thumb issue that followed him through the early months of the season, but with that in mind for a 41-year-old starter, Scherzer doesn’t sound like a starter the Blue Jays want to bounce around.

Lauer has done this job before, though. It seems like forever ago, but Lauer’s first eight appearances with the Blue Jays were pitched essentially as a swingman, making six relief appearances and two starts in between. He can do this. Bassitt might be a pitcher well-suited for bouncing around, too. As Schneider is always fond of saying: “Chris does weird well.”

“It’s going to be interesting. I’m glad I’m not the one making the decisions,” Lauer said. “Obviously, with a guy coming back off of rehab, you want him to get his full rest. You don’t want to push him to be on quick rest or even normal rest. I think they’re going to put him where he’s going to stay, and all of us are going to have to hit him once, that sort of thing.”

If anything, Lauer is just the first guy in line to answer these questions. He’s handling it like a pro, which is what the Blue Jays have hoped for from this group of veterans.

“It’s been a very open line of communication. That’s the biggest thing,” Lauer said. “They didn’t want any of us to feel like we were in jeopardy. That’s what they were getting at, ‘You guys are all doing really well, let’s keep it going.’

“Obviously, we added a really, really good pitcher. Things are going to happen, but we want to make it as seamless and easy for everybody as possible. It’s a very fluid situation.”

Calling something a “good problem” can often be dismissive in its own way. Good problems still need the right answer, and how the four or six best teams in baseball sort out their good problems down the stretch will determine who plays deep into October.

For now? Stay tuned. The Blue Jays have made their first move, but it sounds like we’ll be getting another decision each week.