Shoemaker has yet to begin fielding drills this spring as the Jays bring him back slowly from last year's knee surgery, and there's no target date yet for his first Grapefruit League appearance, Gregor Chisholm of The Toronto Star reports.

EDGE Analysis

The veteran right-hander is well into his throwing program however, and the team isn't concerned about him not being ready for the start of the regular season. "We would have a little bit more concern than we would have for someone who is not coming off surgery, but not more than that," Jays general manager Ross Atkins said. "It's just the fact that he's coming off surgery. There's nothing telling us that he will be late or set back. We're giving him a bit more of a transition to fielding his position. We're being cautious on that front, but we have the room to do that. He should be fine for Opening Day. He should be in the rotation for Opening Day." Shoemaker hasn't thrown more than 77.2 innings in a season since 2016 due to a variety of injuries, but the 33-year-old is still penciled in as a mid-rotation arm for Toronto this year.