Trey Yesavage On Track With Rehab, Could Return Next Week

The Blue Jays are just one game back of the Guardians for the last AL Wild Card spot following wins by both clubs today. Toronto won the season series between the two clubs four games to two, so they now have 12 games remaining to at least tie Cleveland’s regular season record and sneak into the playoffs. They may be getting a key reinforcement next week in the form of right-hander Trey Yesavage. The 23-year-old threw a 30-pitch bullpen session at Rogers Centre this morning and followed it with some light fielding drills. Yesavage “looked great” according to pitching coach Pete Walker, and he’s now set to make a rehab start with Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday, according to Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. If all goes well, Yesavage could return to the Majors on Sunday or Monday next week, “most likely Monday,” according to manager John Schneider (via Hazel Mae of Sportsnet). A pair of stints on the injured list have kept Yesavage from reaching a full-season workload. He started the year on the 15-day IL for a right shoulder impingement, which delayed his season debut until April 28th. His current IL stint for left knee inflammation began on August 5th. At the time, the Jays had a 54-61 record and stood three games out of a Wild Card spot with five teams between them and the Rangers. They have gone 21-11 in 32 games since then, thanks to a resurgent offense and the continued dominance of Dylan Cease. Yesavage has delivered a 3.65 ERA in 18 starts when healthy. His 23.6% strikeout rate is a bit above average, and he’s done a good job of limiting hard contact, holding opponents to a 34.0% hard-hit rate that ranks in the 82nd percentile according to Statcast. On the down side, Yesavage’s walk and ground ball rates are worse than average, while his 4.58 SIERA and his opponents’ .215 average on balls in play suggest Yesavage has had luck on his side. Still, the bottom-line run prevention counts as a success, and the Jays would be happy to get Yesavage back in time for the stretch run. Depending on how he does with Buffalo on Tuesday, Yesavage could throw around 60 pitches on Monday the 21st against the Orioles. He could bump that up slightly if he starts in the regular season finale on September 27th. That would set him up for close to a full workload if the Jays catch up to the Guardians and make the playoffs. Cease started today’s game and earned the win with five innings of one-run ball. Toronto has two off days between now and the end of the season, but they could keep Cease on a five-day cadence with a playoff spot on the line, starting him on the 18th and the 23rd. That could line him up nicely for Game 1 of the Wild Card Series on September 29th. José Soriano is a lock for the playoff rotation, so the third start in a short series would go to one of Yesavage, Max Scherzer, and Spencer Arrighetti. Yesavage has had the best regular season of the three, so he could get the edge. Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images View Comments (0)