received a cortisone shot to treat the inflammation in his right thumb, the future Hall of Famer told reporters ( ). The Jays will have a better idea of when he could return after they see how he responds. Scherzers thumb has bothered him back to last summer, when it was linked to some kind of nerve problem in his hand. The injury resurfaced this spring. Scherzer opened the season on the active roster but departed his first start in a Jays uniform after three innings and 45 pitches because of lat discomfort. The three-time Cy Young winner said postgame that the thumb was the cause of his other i sues. My arm is making adjustments because of that. Thats a recipe for disaster , he on Saturday. The Jays placed Scherzer on the injured list the next day. Its a frustrating situation for the righty. Scherzer acknowledged on Tuesday that he has had conversations with doctors about the potential for surgery, but he said theyre not even close to that scenario right now ( Ryan Howard Jersey ). He added that hes hopeful he can begin playing catch again as soon as Friday. Toronto has an opening in their rotation around , , and . It initially seemed that would step into the starting five after beginning the season in the bullpen. Rodrguez has continued working in a leverage role since Scherzers injury. He fired a scorele s inning to earn a hold on Sunday. He came on tonight in relief of Berros and to sed another inning (allowing one run) to pick up his second hold. The Jays list left-hander as their probable starter for tomorrows series finale against the Nationals. Theyll push Gausman to Friday, giving him six days rest early in the season. Theyre off on Thursday but will begin a stretch of 13 consecutive game days between April 4-16. Theyll probably want a fifth starter by the middle of next week. Tomorrows start will be the first in the big leagues for the 28-year-old Lucas. He has 18 1/3 career innings acro s 14 relief appearances between the As, Tigers and Jays. Lucas worked out of the bullpen for all but four of his 38 Triple-A outings last year. He combined for an impre sive 2.75 earned run average with a 26.2% strikeout rate over 68 2/3 innings. Lucas worked mostly 1-2 inning stints, but he made a five-inning start during his final Triple-A appearance. He topped out at 2 2/3 frames in a game in Spring Training, so theyll likely lean heavily on the bullpen behind him tomorrow. Rodrguez, and non-roster veteran are alternatives if the Jays want to turn to a more traditional fifth starter next week. Garrett Stubbs Jersey