Blue Jays GM Anthopoulos on Stroman: 'He'll be stretched out to start'
Marcus Stroman couldn't wait to get on the mound after receiving medical clearance Monday.
The Toronto Blue Jays right-hander was at the club's facility in Florida on Tuesday continuing his rehab from a torn ACL, and his first mound session couldn't have gone any better.
"Feels like home. Arm feels unbelievable," Stroman said.
Stroman characterized the session as "great," and could begin a rehab assignment in 10 days, barring subsequent soreness in his surgically repaired knee or underused arm.
Related: Stroman says Dr. Andrews 'stunned' by progression of knee
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons is open to the idea of Stroman returning to the club at some point in September out of the bullpen, but general manager Alex Anthopoulos is hopeful the young fireballer can slide into the starting rotation.
"Right now he'll be stretched out to start," Anthopoulos told TSN Radio. "We'll see how many innings we can get out of him assuming no setbacks."
Anthopoulos added that Stroman threw with a knee brace on Tuesday and will be closely monitored moving forward.
"I reiterated to him that if there's any concerns or setbacks along the way, just so he knows, we will shut him down," Anthopoulos said. "His career comes first. As much as we'd love to have him back and he wants to be back, his career's the priority."
Stroman went 11-6 with a 3.65 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 111 strikeouts across 130 2/3 innings in 2014.