Blue Jays Make Surprising Rotation Decision Following Trey Yesavage Return
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The Toronto Blue Jays announced over this past weekend that their rookie sensation Trey Yesavage was set to return on Tuesday night and make his season debut.
While this is obviously not a surprise given the report that Yesavage's ramp up was delayed after a long postseason which he pitched deep into rather than a serious injury, Toronto's decision for how to move things around did raise some eyebrows.
The Blue Jays announced they were going to move left-hander Eric Lauer into the bullpen, who was open about the fact that he strongly disliked serving as the team's opener earlier this month. Lauer has had a rough start to the year but after a career season in 2025, it is unfortunate.
Now though, with Max Scherzer hitting the injured list, Lauer has a chance to get right back into the rotation.
Blue Jays Injuries Forcing Them to Shift Lauer Around
Lauer has not gotten off to a strong start this year, posting a 6.75 ERA across five appearances and four starts with a 1.54 WHIP, a lower strikeout rate than usual and a higher walk rate. After accounting for a 2.2 bWAR last season with a 3.18 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in his hybrid role, this is a disappointment.
Clearly, the shifting around is not helping both physically and mentally, but if Lauer wants to help this team win in 2026, it seems he's going to have to get used to being used as a little bit of a chess piece.
Shane Bieber will be back, and so will Scherzer as well as José Berríos, putting the limited amount of rotation spots in an even more exclusive category.
How Lauer Can Still Help Blue Jays
Lauer may not like the bullpen or opener roles he's being asked to do, but this is the reality of the situation for him right now. If he has any intention of helping this team win, doing what he's asked is going to be the best way.
Given the ability he showed last season, it would be nice if Toronto could find a major role for Lauer, but ultimately however John Schneider wants to align things is the way to go.
If that does indeed mean Lauer in the bullpen or as an opener, he would be doing both himself and the team a favor by embracing it and finding a way to bring his best stuff no matter what inning it is.
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Michael Brauner is a 2022 graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Sports Media. He covers various MLB teams across the On SI network and you can also find his work on Yellowhammer News covering the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers as well as on the radio producing and co-hosting 'The Opening Kickoff' every weekday morning on 105.5 WNSP FM in Mobile, Alabama.