The Blue Jays announced that right-hander Trey Yesavage has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to left knee inflammation. The club also optioned right-hander Chad Dallas to Triple-A Buffalo. Righties Lazaro Estrada and Chase Lee have been recalled in corresponding moves.

Yesavage started last night’s game against the Astros but only lasted two innings. Something was clearly amiss as he was warming up for the third. After a visit from the training staff, he was removed. Dallas entered and pitched three innings of long relief, allowing six earned run while throwing 74 pitches. The Jays eventually announced Yesavage departed with left knee discomfort.

After the game, manager John Schneider said Yesavage would be sent for an MRI, per Mitch Bannon of The Athletic. Today, Schneider says they are still waiting for those MRI results, per Bannon. Though the full severity of the injury is still not publicly known, it seems the Jays expect him to miss at least a couple of weeks.

Rotation injuries have been a big part of Toronto’s season. This is the second IL stint of the year for Yesavage. A shoulder impingement put him on the shelf to begin the campaign, though he was activated before the end of April and has been healthy until now. He has a 3.65 earned run average over 18 starts. The Jays also lost José Berríos and Bowden Francis to Tommy John surgery and Cody Ponce to a torn ACL. Dylan Cease, Max Scherzer and Shane Bieber have spent time on the IL as well.

Though the lack of offense has been the main issue, the rotation injuries have contributed to Toronto’s lackluster season. Ahead of the deadline, they did a bit of selling, sending Kevin Gausman, Jeff Hoffman, Daulton Varsho and Adam Macko out of town in separate trades. They also did a bit of buying, most notably bringing in José Soriano from the Angels. They also grabbed Spencer Arrighetti in the Varsho deal and Jameson Taillon in a DFA trade. That approach seemed to signal that the Jays are more focused on the future, as they sent out short-term pieces and picked up controllable ones, but without totally punting on 2026.

Without Yesavage, the near-term rotation will still have five guys, as the Jays were planning to go with a six-man group for a while. Taillon is taking the ball today with Cease, Soriano, Scherzer and Bieber scheduled to follow. They could then go back to Taillon or they could try to add in someone else if they want to stick to the six-man plan. Arrighetti is on the IL but scheduled to make a rehab start tomorrow. He’s not yet eligible to come off the IL because he was only placed there July 25 but he could be added for the next turn.

Dallas was in the bullpen as a long man but wasn’t going to be available for a while after yesterday’s appearance, so Estrada has been plugged in. Estrada could potentially pitch bulk innings in a bullpen game if he’s not needed in the next few days. If not Estrada, the Jays may need to dip into some other depth options for a spot starter/bulk guy.

CJ Van Eyk is at Buffalo but was just optioned on July 29. He can’t be recalled until 15 days from that date unless replacing someone else going on the injured list. Ricky Tiedemann and John Klein, the latter just acquired in the Hoffman deal, are also on the 40-man but aren’t stretched out at the moment. Tiedemann has been making single-inning appearances on a rehab assignment and was just reinstated to the Bisons roster. Klein was starting earlier in the year but his last outing of longer than 2 2/3 innings was almost a month ago. Non-roster options include Simeon Woods Richardson and Josh Stephan, the later of whom was just acquired in the Macko deal.

Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images