With the Toronto Blue Jays‘ bullpen continuing to struggle, it looks like the team is positioning top prospect Trey Yesavage as a potential option to bolster the group later this season.
Yesavage is scheduled to pitch in relief on Tuesday night in what will be his fourth appearance at triple-A Buffalo, according to multiple reports.
Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith reported that the 22-year-old remains on the Blue Jays’ radar for this season, but added that the focus remains on his development at triple-A.
“There’s guys that we think can help us win games at the major-league level. And I think he’s put himself in that conversation,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters in Cincinnati on Tuesday. “So, you want to try to replicate whatever role that may be without sacrificing him getting the reps he needs.”
After Toronto selected Yesavage in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft, he’s shot through the organization’s affiliates in 2025, pitching at all four full-season levels. Across 91.2 total innings, the six-foot-four right-hander owns a 3.24 ERA and 150 strikeouts — the seventh highest mark in the minor leagues.
Yesavage’s last appearance came on Aug. 27, when he struck out five over 4.2 innings and 83 pitches, allowing one run and two hits.
The expectation for Tuesday’s outing is that the East Carolina product will continue to throw his usual volume of pitches, per Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling, when he eventually enters the game behind starter Paxton Schultz.
It will be the second time this season that Yesavage will pitch in relief. He came out of the bullpen in his final outing at double-A New Hampshire, striking out nine and walking none over five innings.
Yesavage was ranked as the Blue Jays’ top prospect and the 26th-overall prospect in all of baseball in a mid-season update by MLB Pipeline.
While Yesavage wasn’t added to Toronto’s 40-man roster ahead of roster expansion on Monday, he could still be post-season eligible via a Commissioner’s exemption to replace an injured player — a hurdle that has commonly been cleared for top prospects since MLB changed its ruling in 2014.
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