Blue Jays righty Trey Yesavage will open the 2026 season on the 15-day injured list due to a right shoulder impingement, manager John Schneider announced to the team’s beat (via Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet). Yesavage reported to camp with the injury and has been built up slowly as a result. He tossed 35 pitches in a minor league game this week and felt good, but he won’t have enough time to finish ramping up before the season begins. He’ll throw again on March 25, but the Jays are not putting a formal timetable on his potential return.
Yesavage becomes the third Jays starter ticketed for the IL to begin the season. He’ll join righties Shane Bieber (forearm fatigue) and José Berríos (right elbow stress fracture) on the shelf. That’ll leave Toronto with a season-opening rotation of Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce, Max Scherzer and Eric Lauer.
The 22-year-old Yesavage was set to enter the 2026 as one of the favorites for American League Rookie of the Year honors after an eye-opening debut late last year. The former No. 20 overall pick made three regular-season starts and notched a 3.21 ERA in 14 innings before breaking out as a postseason hero. In six playoff appearances (five starts), Yesavage logged a 3.58 ERA, a 35.8% strikeout rate and a 10.1% walk rate.
Those postseason numbers are a bit skewed from one rough start against the Mariners (five runs in four innings), but Yesavage pushed Toronto into a 3-2 World Series lead when he held the Dodgers’ star-studded lineup to one run over seven frames while piling up a dozen strikeouts at Dodger Stadium. The Jays couldn’t close things out in the final two games back home, but Yesavage’s electric Game 5 performance emphatically thrust him into the national spotlight. He’s still a clear Rookie of the Year candidate, but the shoulder issue clouds those chances a bit. He’ll miss at least a couple starts to begin the year, and we don’t yet have a sense for when Yesavage will rejoin the rotation.
Despite the slate of injuries, there are some silver linings for the Jays. Toronto has thus far resisted trading any starting pitching despite signing Cease, Ponce and Scherzer — a trio of signings that pushed them to eight starters for five spots. More importantly, there’s no indication that any of the current injuries are particularly severe. While Bieber’s forearm fatigue and especially Berríos’ stress fracture sound alarming, the actual prognoses are less troublesome. Bieber is throwing from flat ground and expected to be on a mound soon, Schneider said this morning (via Zwelling). Berríos is symptom-free and only discovered his injury when undergoing a physical for World Baseball Classic purposes. He’s currently expected to resume throwing within a matter of days.
Though none of the injuries currently point to monthslong absences, the Jays’ depth is already being tested. They can scarcely afford even another minor injury, especially with depth starter Bowden Francis out for the year following Tommy John surgery and prospects Ricky Tiedemann and Jake Bloss still working back from injuries of their own.
Swingman Yariel Rodríguez could be summoned back to the 40-man roster after previously clearing waivers, but options beyond him are lacking. Righty Lazaro Estrada has just 7 1/3 MLB innings under his belt. Prospect Adam Macko and Rule 5 pick Spencer Miles have yet to pitch in the majors. Non-roster options beyond Rodriguez include Connor Seabold and Michael Plassmeyer. Seabold has had a shaky spring and has never found big league success. Plassmeyer is a 29-year-old lefty with 11 major league innings under his belt.
