Blue Jays Get Encouraging Progress on Trey Yesavage's Injury Recovery

The Toronto Blue Jays have had major setbacks to their initial starting pitching plans to open the 2026 season. Four arms have now hit the injured list, and the Blue Jays are stretched thin. One of those players is Trey Yesavage, who is dealing with a right shoulder impingement and is currently on the 15-day injured list.

Yesavage appears to be closest to a return. He pitched in a rehab assignment on Friday in Single-A instead of a sim game, which is a good sign he's progressing better than expected. He threw 2.2 innings on 44 pitches. He allowed one hit, one walk, and struck out three batters.

It's a similar workload that a pitcher would assume in spring training. Yesavage didn't make an appearance in spring camp, so a slower ramp up could be in the cards.

Evaluating Yesavage's Timeline to a Return

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage throws a pitch. | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

The other starting pitchers on the injured list include José Berríos (right elbow stress fracture), Shane Bieber (right elbow inflammation), and Cody Ponce (right ACL sprain). Toronto had to sign veteran Patrick Corbin to a one-year, $1 million deal to provide insurance. He'll join a current starting rotation that features Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Eric Lauer, and Max Scherzer.

In the rehab assignment, Yesavage's average fastball velocity sat at 94.1 mph, similar to his average in 2025, according to Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. His splitter and slider took a slight dip in velocity, but that's expected.

Per Matheson, manager John Schneider said, "We'll talk to him on [Saturday] after the outing to see how he's feeling. Whether it's one more there [in Dunedin] or shoot up to [Triple-A] Buffalo, we just want to see what his stuff looks like, really, and we're not worried about the level. As long as the stuff is there, we'll feel good about it."

Yesavage burst onto the scene in the postseason, delivering memorable performances at such a young age. In game five of the 2025 World Series, he threw seven innings and allowed one run with 12 strikeouts. The ceiling is very high, but the Blue Jays must ensure their star pitcher is fully healthy before throwing him out there.

The hope is that he can return at the end of the month or in early May. In the meantime, Bieber will be throwing off a mound for the first time on Saturday and Berríos will throw a live batting practice this weekend.