Trey Yesavage, who began the 2026 season on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement, made his first rehab start Friday night for the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays, pitching 2 2/3 innings and allowing one run on Opening Day. The outing aligns with Toronto's plan to gradually build his workload, with manager John Schneider eyeing next steps based on his weekend recovery.
Yesavage, the 2025 breakout who reached the World Series after starting in Single-A, showed positive signs despite velocity slightly below his 2025 averages: fastball at 94.1 mph (down from 94.7), splitter 82.8 mph (vs. 84.1), slider 87.9 mph (vs. 88.7). He walked one, struck out three, and threw 44 pitches. The run scored on an inside-the-park homer after a fly ball bounced off the right-field wall in Dunedin, Florida. Originally slated as a sim game, it became a minor-league rehab start after positive progress reports. Following Toronto's 5-4 loss to the White Sox, Schneider said: “We’ll talk to him [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 leads Toronto's injured starters in recovery ahead of José Berríos (right elbow stress fracture) and Shane Bieber (right elbow inflammation). The rotation currently features healthy arms Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Max Scherzer, and Eric Lauer, with 36-year-old Patrick Corbin signed to a one-year, $1 million deal for depth.