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.