Blue Jays' Trey Yesavage set to make 2026 debut after recovering from shoulder injury

AL EastBlue JaysOriolesRaysRed SoxYankeesAL CentralGuardiansRoyalsTigersTwinsWhite SoxAL WestAngelsAstrosAthleticsMarinersRangersNL EastBravesMarlinsMetsNationalsPhilliesNL CentralBrewersCardinalsCubsPiratesRedsNL WestDiamondbacksDodgersGiantsPadresRockiesScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsThe Windup NewsletterFantasyMLB ProspectsMLB OddsMLB PicksPower RankingsFans Speak UpTop ProspectsBlue Jays’ Trey Yesavage set to make 2026 debut after recovering from shoulder injuryTrey Yesavage made three regular-season starts and appeared in six postseason games last year. John E. Sokolowski / Imagn Images Share articleTORONTO — Trey Yesavage, an ascendant prospect who broke out with a record-setting postseason last year, will make his 2026 debut for the Toronto Blue Jays against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday. He’ll return to a Jays rotation that could certainly use another upside arm. “He kind of checked all the boxes that we had hoped for,” manager John Schneider said. Eric Lauer will now move to the bullpen for Toronto, Schneider said, and the Jays must make a roster move before Yesavage’s start next week. It’s been weird, Yesavage said, being away from the Jays for the season’s first few weeks. He got used to showing up to the park every day with the same group during the 2025 postseason and spring training this year. Instead, in an essentially empty clubhouse built for 50-plus players, Yesavage spent the first few weeks of the 2026 season healing a shoulder impingement alongside Shane Bieber and Bowden Francis at Toronto’s spring training facility in Florida. Now,  Yesavage will rejoin the big-league team. The righty, who pitched to a 3.58 ERA in six postseason starts last year, said his shoulder pain stopped about two weeks into spring. With his ramp-up delayed, and the Jays wanting to be particularly careful after an extended workload in 2025 and a short offseason, Yesavage didn’t appear in a single spring training game and only began rehab starts on April 3. He’s now made four minor-league appearances and felt best in his latest outing, Yesavage said, despite giving up four runs in 2 1/3 innings. “Based on the box score,” Yesavage said. “I bet you wouldn’t guess it.” Yesavage, who is still technically rookie-eligible, said his fastball, splitter and slider were exactly where he wanted them to be in the first two innings of that final Triple-A outing. He lost command in the third and was removed due to an increasing pitch count, but came out of the Buffalo Bisons start feeling confident. He will likely be capped around 80 pitches in his first start, but Yesavage adds an element of upside that the Jays have lacked in the back end of their rotation in recent weeks. Patrick Corbin, signed in early April, has been a surprisingly solid option for the Jays, posting a 3.68 ERA in his first three starts, but hasn’t been asked to pitch deep in games. Max Scherzer and Lauer own ERAs over 6.50. Lauer, who expressed his desire to be a traditional starter in spring training and again during the regular season, moves to the bullpen to provide some needed length. The Jays haven’t had a traditional long man in the relief group all spring, forced to throw several relievers when starters leave games early. Lauer, who Schneider said was “fine” with the decision, should help Toronto avoid the sorts of days that add extra pressure to a bullpen. Yesavage, now in the rotation, should elevate the starting group as well. Scherzer, Schneider said, will stay in the rotation after allowing seven runs on Friday. We’ve seen Yesavage at his best already, striking out 12 Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. He’s stood on the mound staring down Trent Grisham in the American League Division Series, too. It’ll be at least a few months, at least, before the young righty is back on the big stage, but that’s the sort of upside Toronto now has back in the rotation. Plus, for a Jays team that keeps losing players to injury (Nathan Lukes was placed on the IL with a hamstring strain on Saturday), getting anyone back is good news. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms