TORONTO - Originally scheduled to start on Saturday, Mark Buehrle was switched with David Price earlier in the week, leaving Price to start in the second game of the three game set against the Orioles while pushing Buehrle to Sunday.

But before Saturday's game, manager John Gibbons announced that Buehrle would be pushed back again – to Monday afternoon against the Boston Red Sox, leaving Marco Estrada to pitch on regular rest on Sunday in the series finale against Baltimore.

The move will give Buehrle, who sits at 171 innings pitched so far this year, seven days rest between starts. His last outing came back on August 30th against the Detroit Tigers in which he tossed 6 innings, allowing 5 hits and 1 earned run while picking up his 14th victory of the season.

"It's just a good move, get him an extra day," said manager John Gibbons.

Buehrle, at 36 years old in his 16th season in the big leagues, has dealt with a series of aches and pains throughout the season though he has never been specific as to what the actual issues are.

"He should be barking," said Gibbons. "You look at how many years he's been pitching, the number of innings, never been on the DL. But he guts it out so any chance we get to buy him an extra day or two, we're going to do that."

At this point in the season, the Blue Jays have to work their rotation strategically; balancing the immediate needs of the present against the possibility of needing their starters to be fresh deep into October should they make the playoffs.

Asked if there is reason to believe there is a longer term concern with Buehrle's health, Gibbons brushed the notion aside.

"He's fine, this isn't something he's never been through," said Gibbons. "I think he's at about 170 innings now, he's done that I don't know how many years in a row now. It's just kind of wear and tear. I don't think I've ever been around a guy that's more reliable than Mark, he gets beat up out there. He's taken some shots off the body but it doesn't faze him, he just keeps plowing along."

The other moving part that has to be kept in mind is Marcus Stroman. Scheduled to pitch on Monday for Triple-A Buffalo in his second rehab appearance as he works his way back from a torn left ACL suffered in spring training, Stroman's next available day to pitch as a starter would be Saturday September 12th.

Coincidentally, September 12th would also be Buehrle's next scheduled start on regular rest.

The Blue Jays begin a four game series in New York against the Yankees on Thursday. For Buehrle, new Yankee Stadium has been a house of horror throughout his career, sitting with a 0-7 record in 9 starts and an ERA of 6.22. Provided all goes well for Stroman in his rehab appearance, he could make that start on Saturday, allowing Buehrle to avoid Yankee Stadium altogether.

The rotation would set up as follows. For the Red Sox series beginning on Monday: Buehrle, RA Dickey and Drew Hutchison. For the Yankees series beginning on Thursday: David Price, Marco Estrada, Marcus Stroman and RA Dickey.

Buehrle could then pitch in Atlanta after an off day on Monday, potentially on Tuesday September 15th which would give him another seven days rest between starts. His next start on regular rest would be September 20th, a Sunday at home against the Boston Red Sox which would allow him to miss the Yankees again in a three get set that starts on Monday September 21st at the Rogers Centre.

Of course, this all depends on Stroman's status after his final rehab appearance on Monday. But if it is just about getting Buehrle an extra day here or there and there is in fact no serious concern about Buehrle's status long term, it could be a way to slide Stroman in while giving Buehrle some strategic rest against an historically difficult opponent.