Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins told reporters Thursday afternoon that injured starters Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber and Jose Berrios are progressing well in their recoveries.
“We are really encouraged given the starting point,” Atkins said of the trio, who are all on the injured list to begin the season.
“All of them are progressing really well, but each step is extremely important. All of them a little bit different but not entirely different timelines,” he said.
Atkins mentioned that he was particularly satisfied with Yesavage’s progression in his recovery from a shoulder impingement, which manager John Schneider revealed last week he came into camp with.
“He was very effective yesterday. His velo bumped back up and we were really encouraged by Trey yesterday,” Atkins said.
Yesavage has been throwing off a mound while Bieber (forearm fatigue) and Berrios (elbow stress fracture) are each supposed to throw off a mound this week.
Toronto bulked up on depth in their starting rotation in the off-season but the injuries mean that depth is being tested early. The Jays will go with a rotation of Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce, Eric Lauer and Max Scherzer to begin the season in addition to eight relief pitchers who were announced to Toronto’s Opening Day 26-player roster released Wednesday afternoon.
The Jays will get their season started Friday at Rogers Centre against the Athletics with Gausman set to get the ball against veteran righty Luis Severino.
