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The Blue Jays head to the 2021 season with raised expectations after landing a playoff spot last season and making a big splash this past offseason, adding George Springer and Marcus Semien to an already-exciting offensive core. 

But there were questions in the rotation and those intensify with the latest news: Youngster Nate Pearson has suffered a setback as he worked to come back from a groin injury. 

Opening Day is just a touch over two weeks away and Pearson would need to ramp things back up with his arm once his groin is totally ready to go. The logistics for him being in the rotation to start the season simply don't line up. Expect him to be on the injured list for at least a week or two, if not a decent chunk longer. 

Pearson, 24, has big upside and has been hailed as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball in recent years. In 25 starts between Double-A and Triple-A in 2019, he pitched to a 2.30 ERA and 0.89 WHIP with 119 strikeouts in 101 2/3 innings. Walks were a problem in his big-league debut season last year, as he was 1-0 with a 6.00 ERA and 1.50 WHIP with 16 strikeouts and 13 walks in 18 innings. The hard-throwing righty was also hampered by a flexor strain and, well, anyone should be forgiven for not immediately producing in the majors, most especially with the way the 2020 season looked. 

With Pearson down, the Blue Jays' rotation has lefties Hyun-Jin Ryu, Robbie Ray and Steven Matz along with righties Tanner Roark and Ross Stripling. Aside from the ace, Ryu, that's a rotation loaded with question marks and inconsistency. Now without the upside of Pearson, the depth is tested, too, because the next option might end up being someone like Tommy Milone. 

On the flip side, there might be a bit of silver lining here. This isn't an arm injury and until he's ready to return, Pearson won't be wearing out his very-important right arm. As noted, he worked just 101 2/3 innings in 2019 and 18 last year, not including any summer camp or alternate site work. The likelihood of the Jays wanting him to handle a full 32- or 33-start workload was very low. Instead, with this injury, the Jays can take their time with easing Pearson back in and possibly have him full go throughout the entire second half instead of worrying about burning his arm out. 

Still, that leaves an even heavier weight on the likes of Ray, Matz, Roark and Stripling to perform well early as the Jays look to make a some noise in the AL East race.