And there it is: Marcus Stroman is back.

After a lengthy rehab process, one that lasted over 6 months, Marcus Stroman is on his way back in a big way as he is slated to make his Blue Jays debut this Saturday in a pivotal game against the New York Yankees in the Bronx.

While it was initially thought that Stroman would miss the remainder of the season, his perseverance prevailed and his effort never wavered. With the assistance of his rehabilitation team at Duke University, Marcus was able to rehab his knee, regain his strength, and complete his degree at the prestigious school, one in which he had spent three years in before being drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays with the 22nd pick in the first round of the 2012 MLB Amateur Draft.

After throwing 4.2 IP of no-hit ball against the Lansing Lungnuts after a borderline unbelievable five-month recovery from ACL surgery on September 2nd, the ever-energetic Stroman could not hold back his smile, telling the media post-game, “I was a little amped. I was like, I need to slow down a little bit here. I felt like I was working like Buerhle.”

However, while Stroman’ final Rehab start at the more-advanced Triple-A level for the Buffalo Bisons against the Pawtucket Red Sox was not as great, as he allowed four runs on eight hits over three laborious innings pitched, like always Stroman chose to look at the positives of the outing. While some would have deemed the outing as a setback in his progression back from his supposed season-ending operation, the energetic and relentlessly positive Long Island native thought otherwise.

“My arm felt great, knee felt great,” he said, “The results didn’t say so, but my stuff felt unreal.”

And there you have it. That is Marcus Stroman, always looking at the glass half-full and never half-empty, and this Saturday, September 12th, we, as Blue Jays fans, will have the pleasure of watching him toe the rubber live in the Bronx at 1:05 ET.

So Jays Nation, make sure to tune in.

The Toronto Blue Jays made the tough decision to demote opening day starter, Drew Hutchison, to triple-A Buffalo today following a pair of excellent starts at home against the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees. With the team on the verge of being swept at the hands of the Yankees at home, manager John Gibbons and his staff turned to Drew Hutchison to salvage the series and ensure that his team did not fall to 2.5 games back of their AL East foes. With the team having lost a tough one on Friday with Ace pitcher David Price on the mound, and having been shut down by $155 million dollar man, Masahiro Tanaka, on Saturday, Drew Hutchison answered the bell Sunday, surpassing all expectations and going six and two-thrirds strong, allowing just one earned run, striking out five and giving up just three hits in a game that the Blue Jays would wind up winning 3-1. It was a dominant performance from the young right hander and a great follow up to his start against the Oakland Athletics just last Tuesday. After a dismal month of July in which he went 1-1 with a 6.93 ERA in 5 starts, Hutchison looked like he was beginning to turn the corner as he had now gone 3-0 with a 2.89 ERA in three August starts.

However, despite the strong numbers, the Blue Jays still made the conscious decision to demote Drew Hutchison on Monday. The fact of the matter is that despite his recent string of strong outings, Hutchison is still the fifth best starter on the staff, as Price, Dickey, Buehrle, and Estrada have all been better and more consistent performers than Hutchison when looking at the season as a whole. Despite Drew’s 12-2 record and league-leading .857 winning percentage, his ERA of 5.06 on the season, along with his opponents OPS and batting average of .782 and .287, respectively, rank near the bottom of the league. These are all weak numbers, and with the Blue Jays making a push for the post season for the first time in twenty-two years, it was essential for the Blue Jays to think with their brains and not their hearts when making this tough decision.

With the next eight games being played on the road over a span of 10 days, and with three off-days (Monday included) in such close proximity, shifting to a four man-rotation will prevent the other starters from working with too much rest.

As things stand now, R.A Dickey and Mark Buehrle will take the hill against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday and Wednesday, with David Price, Marco Estrada and Dickey next in line to face the Angels during this weekend’s series. With the off-day on Thursday, Dickey will be able to pitch on Sunday with a complete five days of rest. As well, with there being another off-day next Monday (August 24th), Buehrle, Price, and Estrada will be able to pitch the next three days against the Texas Rangers without throwing on short-rest, with Dickey then being in line to pitch the August 28 series opener at the Rogers Center versus the Detroit Tigers. This means that a fifth starter will only be needed for the following Saturday afternoon game on August 29th.

With the Blue Jays needing to keep Drew Hutchison in the minors for a minimum of ten days after he is optioned, this timetable would make Hutchison eligible to pitch against the Tigers that Saturday, at home, where he has been so dominant this season. With his home/road splits being so dramatic (10-1 with a 2.57 ERA at Home vs. 2-1 with a 9.00 ERA on the Road), doing this will keep him from pitching on the road against the Texas Rangers, while allowing manager John Gibbons to have some more offensive and defensive options on the bench in corner infielder Matt Hague and outfielder Ezequiel Carrera when the Blue Jays play by National League rules against the Phillies in Philadelphia on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Overall, while this may look to be harsh on the part of the Blue Jays, the fact of the matter is that the team is within striking distance to win the American League East for the first time in over two decades. There are only 46 games left to be played, and with each one remaining being so significant and the results being so magnified, it is necessary for management to make the moves that are in the best interest of the team as whole.

While Hutch may be upset, he should know that he’ll be back, and that when he starts that Saturday afternoon game against the Detroit Tigers on August 29th, that there will be 45,000 fans behind him in the stands, standing and ready to cheer him on.

It has been 22 years since the Blue Jays sniffed October Baseball. Who knew that when Joe Carter stepped up to the plate that October night, with Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams on the mound, that he would become Canada’s hero and cement his name in Baseball history. That three-run home run crowned the Blue Jays the 1993 World Series Champions and made them back-to-back champions of the world. The Blue Birds were flying high and it didn’t seem like anything could bring them down.

Twenty-two years later they have yet to make it back to the playoffs.

When Anthopoulos pulled the trigger on those blockbuster trades back in the 2012-2013 offseason, he did so with the intention of going for it. Mark Buehrle, Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Emilio Bonifacio, R.A Dickey. The Blue Jays loaded up on talent and piled on payroll in an effort to make a run in the American League East. The division seemed to be down and Anthopoulos felt like it was there for the taking. Unfortunately things did not go as planned as the Blue Jays would wind up winning only 74 games, finishing the season in last place.

However, Anthopoulos did not panic. He did not go Miami Marlins – Jeffrey Loria style on his ball club and his fan base and orchestrate a full-blown fire sale. Instead, he stayed on the same course and kept his talented core in place. He understood that his 3-4 punch of Bautista and Encarnacion was one of the most talented and feared in the game, and that with Jose Reyes leading off, and R.A Dickey and Mark Buehrle up top the rotation, he had a solid group of veteran players in place to build a championship caliber team around.

2014 passed by and the Blue Jays showed signs of improvement.The team increased its win total by 9 games and finished in 3rd place in the American League East, trailing only the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees. Though Anthopoulos did not make any trades at that year’s July 31st non-waiver trade deadline, he now knew what he needed to do to put his team over the top. While some said he needed more talent to win, he knew he needed more winners to win. He needed to alter the culture of the clubhouse and he did just that. The additions of Josh Donaldson and Russel Martin in the offseason were aimed at bringing in talented players, with playoff experience, who exemplified leadership qualities that Anthopoulos felt were needed to propel the Blue Jays to the top. Colby Rasmus was let go and Adam Lind was traded to Milwaukee Brewers for right handed starter, Marco Estrada. Now, while everyone understood the Blue Jays had the offense to take them to the top, the question was always the pitching. Did the Toronto Blue Jays have the pitching that would allow them to win with their dynamite offense? Run support was not the concern, as it was all about run prevention. Without addressing the pitching staff, Anthopoulos did everything else he could to strengthen their run prevention. With the additions of Martin and Donaldson, and excellent role players like Ryan Goins and Kevin Pillar, the Blue Jays looked like a much more defensively sound ball club once opening day rolled around. Their only holes, you ask? Left field, shortstop, the starting rotation, and the bullpen. Quite a list.

While Jose Reyes was a great teammate with great flare and a true passion for the game, he was really starting to become a defensive liability. The routine play was starting to become less and less routine and this was really beginning to cost the Blue Jays runs. His -8 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) at the All Star Break ranked near the bottom of the league, making it clear that while Reyes’ smile and infectious personality would be missed, a more defensively sound replacement at shortstop was definitely needed. July 28th would mark the day that this need would be addressed. Alex Anthopoulos, like a magician, had pulled off yet another blockbuster trade, acquiring talented, power-hitting shortstop Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockies, along with veteran right hander LaTroy Hawkins, in exchange for high-upside, right handed pitching prospects Jeff Hoffman, Jesus Tinoco, and Miguel Castro, as well as shortstop Jose Reyes. With one trade, Anthopoulos had managed to acquire a superstar in Tulowitizki; a franchise player who would not only bolster the team’s defense, but would also bolster them greatly from an offensive standpoint, both now, and for years to come. As well, a key factor greatly overlooked in this trade was how Anthopoulos had managed to bolster the team’s bullpen, as well, with the addition of Hawkins, a hard-throwing right hander. As a veteran of 21 years, Hawkins not only could help stabilize the bullpen, but could also provide a veteran presence in a bullpen filled with so much young blood.

While the trade was praised by some, it was highly critiqued as well, as many felt that Anthopoulos had used his primary bullets to strengthen an already stacked, star-studded offense that was leading the league by a wide margin in terms of runs scored,  when it was the starting rotation that really could have used an upgrade. Ever since Aaron Sanchez had landed on the disabled list, his replacements in Felix Doubront, Scott Copeland and Matt Boyd had made 11 starts, going 2-9 with an ERA of 7.55, with less than four innings, on average, pitched per start. Anthopoulos knew these numbers and this made him understand that acquiring a starting pitcher was not a luxury, but was a necessity if the Blue Jays had any plans of contending. However, while most thought a modest upgrade, perhaps a Mike Leake or Aaron Harang was in store, Anthopoulos had bigger and better things in mind.

The Blue Jays had lacked a true ace ever since Roy Halladay had been traded from the team following the 2009 season, and Anthopoulos missed those days. He knew that acquiring an ace could change the complexion of his starting staff, and alter the landscape of the American League East. Having a pitcher that could match up against Chris Archer, Johnny Cueto, Felix Hernandez, Chris Sale and the other aces of the American League on any given night was something that Anthopoulos craved. However, with there really only being one ace pitcher left on the market, most thought this would be impossible to accomplish. With supply being so limited and the demand being so high, one could imagine just how high the price was, and with the Yankees and the Dodgers too on the lookout for an ace, chances looked slim for Toronto. However, on July 30th, Anthopoulos once again did what he does best and shocked the baseball world, acquiring ace left hander David Price from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for high-upside left handed pitching prospects Daniel Norris, Matt Boyd, and Jairo Labourt. Norris, a highly touted left hander who had made waves in the headlines for his talented play on the field and simple living off the field, was the Blue Jays No. 1 ranked prospect. However, Anthopoulos understood that the time was now.

With a lineup including Troy Tulowitzki, Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Russel Martin, Chris Colabello, Devon Travis, Justin Smoak, and Dioner Navarro, and with the addition of left fielder Ben revere, along with the M’s ace relief pitcher Mark Lowe, Anthopoulos understood that he had the pieces in place to make a real run.

Should you worry about Norris, Boyd and Labourt becoming the next Cole Hamels, Luke Hochevar, or Justin Nicolino? You can … but when David Cone made 11 starts to help the Blue Jays win the 1992 World Series, did you cringe every time Jeff Kent rounded the bases for the New York Mets or the San Francisco Giants?

Sure, Norris is a bright, hard throwing and talented left handed pitching prospect, with perhaps a very bright future, but Anthopoulos did not deal him to the Milwaukee Brewers for Mike Fiers or the Houston Astros for Scott Feldman.

They dealt him for a 6-foot-6 stud with a playoff pedigree, and a great history of thriving in the grueling American League East, and so far the move is paying off. Since falling to 1 game below .500 back on June 28th, the Blue Jays are 14-2 and have climbed from being 8 games back of the New York Yankees to being just a half a game back. With a huge sweep of the Yankees in New York just last weekend, and a huge series against them this weekend in Toronto, the city is buzzing and memories of the early 1990s are once again being lived in this city.

The fact of the matter is that the Blue Birds are once again back and are flying higher then they have in the last 22 years, and it is all thanks to one man: Mr. Alex Anthopoulos.