Marcus Stroman's Shoulder Injury Diagnosed as Inflammation, No Structural Damage

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman has inflammation in his throwing shoulder, but an MRI reportedly showed no structural damage.

Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet provided the update Tuesday, noting the team isn't "overly concerned" about the situation right now. Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com reported the starter complained about tightness during his most recent bullpen session.

“I’m not slightly worried about it," Stroman told reporters Tuesday but noted he wasn't sure if he would be ready for the start of the season.

Stroman was most notably banged up in 2015 when he suffered a torn ACL, but he was healthy in 2016 and made 32 starts while going 9-10 with a 4.37 ERA, 1.289 WHIP and 3.07 strikeout-to-walk rate. 

He posted a 3.09 ERA with 164 strikeouts in 201 innings across 33 starts last season.

Losing a rock-solid starter in the middle of the rotation is never easy, but it doesn't appear the Jays are worried about his availability for the start of the regular season at this stage.

For now, Marco Estrada and J.A. Happ should be tasked with holding down the top of the rotation until Stroman can return to his normal role as one of the team's most dependable arms.