Jameson Taillon’s move to the Toronto Blue Jays got off to a much-needed better start Monday - and then took an unwelcome turn.
In his second outing since leaving the Chicago Cubs, Taillon showed some life on the mound, working four scoreless innings while allowing three walks and striking out three. But the night ended early anyway, with the Blue Jays pulling him after the fourth inning and later saying he left with right forearm discomfort.
Toronto said Taillon is scheduled for further imaging today, and the club is hoping it caught the issue before it turns into something worse.
“He said his forearm was a little tight getting some extension on cutters and sliders,” John Schneider told reporters. “For a guy with an injury history, hopefully we can be proactive and I don’t want to take any chances with him.
He’s going to get an MRI and check it out, so we’ll know more tomorrow and we’re hoping for the best. He was throwing the ball well.”
The outing came on the heels of Taillon’s first start for Toronto, which looked a lot more like the version the Cubs had been dealing with this season. Against the Astros last week, the 34-year-old gave up three runs on six hits over four innings.
That rough stretch helps explain why Chicago designated him for assignment one week before the trade deadline. The Cubs believed there wasn’t enough time left in the season to untangle what had been bothering him, and with the team pushing toward the postseason, moving on made sense - especially with Taillon set to become a free agent after the season.
It’s difficult to pin his struggles in Chicago on a hidden injury. Taillon did spend time on the injured list this year, but that was because of a hamstring strain. And even that doesn’t fully explain the rest of his season, since home runs were already a problem for him in spring training.
For now, the Blue Jays are just hoping the forearm issue is minor and that Taillon can make his next turn through the rotation.
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