It’s Trey Day once again, as Yesavage ready to rejoin Blue Jays vs Red Sox

TORONTO — First, Trey Yesavage struck out nine batters over five innings of one-run ball during an electric big-league debut. In his next start, he helped the Toronto Blue Jays clinch a post-season berth. The next time out, he set them up to win the American League East, which they did in Game 162.

Then his outings just got bigger and better from there — tearing through the New York Yankees in an 11-strikeout division series gem; helping fend off elimination versus the Seattle Mariners in the ALCS; pitching the Blue Jays to a pair of World Series wins, including a 12-strikeout, seven-inning masterpiece against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5.

Now, the 22-year-old right-hander’s 2026 season, at long last, begins when he’s activated from the injured list to start against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night (7 p.m. ET on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+).

After a whirlwind 2025, which began in low-A and ended in an epic Fall Classic, Yesavage needs only to delve into the grind, rather than find his way amid the frenetic stakes of a meteoric rise.

“He’s a mature kid,” said pitching coach Pete Walker. “He came in and exceeded our expectations, probably everybody’s initially. We’ve got to make sure he doesn’t put too much pressure on himself, like he has to be that guy every time out there. It’s virtually impossible to do that over a career, right? So just getting him comfortable with himself again, getting in a good routine, pounding the strike zone, trusting in his stuff and the results will come.”

Just like last September, when the Blue Jays sought a boost from Yesavage ahead of the post-season, they once again need results from him, only this time for different reasons. At 12-16 following Monday’s 5-0 loss to the Red Sox, they are seeking to stack series wins and pull out from a wild, injury-filled opening month, with Max Scherzer becoming the 13th player to hit the injured list.

Yesavage, who reported to spring training with a shoulder impingement that delayed his buildup, is the first of the sidelined Blue Jays to be activated, after an absence “I think I’ve handled well.”

“My mindset was kind of like how I was in the minors, play so they have to bring you up here and whatnot,” he said over the weekend. “So just still having that competitive nature and being able to prove that I should be here. The toughest part is it’s kind of slow. I wish I could have been up here sooner.”

The delayed start should give the Blue Jays more flexibility in how they handle Yesavage, who went from 93.1 innings with East Carolina in 2024 before the Blue Jays picked him 20th overall, to 139.2 frames across five levels, including the peak-stress outings of the playoffs.

How much more they aim to add on this year will be a moving target, one helped out by a month on the sidelines.

“He had a lot of experience in a short amount of time, but doesn’t have a history of long seasons, yet,” explained Walker. “So we’re going to watch him closely, monitor him. If he needs a break at some point, we’ll give it to him. But for the most part, right now we’re going to let him go. He’s going to be a big part of this rotation and we’re really excited to have him here.”

The Blue Jays discussed giving Yesavage one more rehab start after his last outing with triple-A Buffalo only lasted 64 pitches over 2.1 innings — roughly 10 pitches fewer than expected — but ultimately decided to take the roughly 80 pitches he’ll be available for on Tuesday.

Yesavage said, despite an ugly-looking pitching line, he felt ready after his last outing, seeing the way his “heater is playing in the zone.”

“My off-speed works off my heater,” he continued. “If I’m going to miss with my off-speeds, make them competitive misses, not like yanking the slider, miss set up with the splitter. It’s pounding the heater and being competitive with the off-speed.”

That’s what the Blue Jays saw, too, as he was holding his fastball velocity at 94-95 m.p.h. with improving pitchability.

“Can’t wait to see him — it’s been a long time,” said Walker. “He’s worked hard this spring. We built him up the right way and (are) excited to get him back out there. He’s 100 per cent healthy. He’s got to get that feel back from a pitching standpoint, so it’ll be good to get him out there and get him in a normal routine. We can work together in our bullpen sessions and get him on track.”

Perhaps helping the Blue Jays do the same along the way.

Welcome to the club: When John Schneider took over as interim manager after the firing of Charlie Montoyo on July 13, 2022, some of his counterparts around the majors and “especially in the division,” called to congratulate him and offer their support.

So, as Chad Tracy and the Boston Red Sox arrived for this three-game series in Toronto, Schneider did the same thing for the newly named interim manager on Monday morning.

“Very cool, very classy,” said Tracy. “(Schneider) said he wanted to pay it forward, he remembered when people did that for him. So he texted, we called and spoke for probably about 10 minutes and just offered advice. Another one who has been named an interim manager, came in the middle of the season, has gone through what I’m going through. He offered support, said if you ever need some advice that he’s there. Warren Schaeffer (of the Colorado Rockies) was another one who texted me (on Monday). I was around Schaef in Colorado when we were both players. He’s gone through it. So it’s been cool the different people that have reached out to offer support.”

Tracy was pulled from a game he was managing at triple-A Worcester on Saturday and promoted to the big leagues after Alex Cora and five staff members were abruptly fired in a stunning first-month culling.

Schneider “just wanted to say congratulations” and told Tracy “I was available for any questions. … I don’t know him. I’ve never met him. But I just felt this is the right baseball thing to do, to reach out and offer my support.”

Tracy felt the same way: “When you’re not out there competing between the lines, the fraternity of it and people taking care of people, I thought it was a very classy move.”

Swing or take: Heading into Monday’s play, the Blue Jays had seen the fewest pitches in the majors at 3,787 and, correspondingly, had the lowest average pitches-per-plate-appearance at 3.72. They’d also swung at the first pitch 34 per cent of the time, tied for third highest in the majors, while their contact rate of 77.2 per cent was tied for second. Finally, they’d swung at 51.3 per cent of all pitches they’ve seen, second in the majors and only a tenth behind the Colorado Rockies.

Combined, the numbers paint the picture of an aggressive, free-swinging offence. One that makes a lot of contact, which is good when hitters hunt and get their pitch, and somewhat less effective when pitchers’ pitches get put in play.

So, are the Blue Jays simply being the right level of aggressive at the plate, or do they need to work some deeper counts to make life harder on opposing pitchers, starters especially? The importance of those questions on approach was demonstrated on Monday, when Ranger Suarez held them to one hit over eight innings with 10 strikeouts on only 105 pitches.

“It’s give-and-take,” said John Schneider. “Certain hitters, we want them to be aggressive, and against certain pitchers, you’ve got to be ready to be both. You’ve got to be ready in the middle, and if it’s not there, you can’t budge. When you’re going into a game like this, that was what you didn’t want to have happen. I thought some of the guys worked the at-bats, worked the counts and when you did, (Suarez) just didn’t give in with a couple of 3-2 breaking balls and he’s not really predictable. So it’s a give-and-take. We want guys to be ready from Pitch 1, but it’s got to be in a spot where you can do something with it and if it’s not, you’ve got to move it on to the next pitch. It’s easier said than done when a guy’s got multiple pitches and multiple things he can do.”