Trey Yesavage looked like anything but a rookie in the playoffs last year, but coming into the new year, that’s exactly what he remains.
Yesavage threw 27 2/3 innings in the postseason, the second-most on the Blue Jays’ pitching staff, after only accruing 14 major league innings in the regular season. He pitched his way through three levels of the minors last year, after making his professional debut last April at High-A.
Obviously, the Blue Jays believe Yesavage can be a star in the majors after witnessing what he did in October. But manager John Schneider had some words of caution on Tuesday when it came to setting expectations for the 22-year-old’s full-season major league debut, especially in terms of workload.
“It’s a little slower, obviously, just because he went from having the probably longest offseason possible after he gets drafted to the shortest one possible after his first full year,” Schneider said of Yesavage’s spring training progression, per Shi Davidi of SportsNet.
“Trying to be strategic. Looking at the broad picture, I think it would be unrealistic to say, all right, ‘Trey, first year in the big leagues, here’s your 32 starts and your 200 innings.’ We’re trying to stay aware of that. And there are probably going to be some times where you have to hone him in a little bit and if you can maneuver the rotation a little bit, yeah. But he’s on a little bit of a different ramp-up.”
Yesavage threw 139 2/3 innings last season, counting the minors, majors, and postseason. That was up from 93 1/3 in 2024 for East Carolina, when Yesavage made himself into a first-round draft pick that summer.
Davidi reported that Yesavage’s first game action this spring is expected to come next week, and perhaps at some point later this spring, the Blue Jays will reveal a concrete plan for his usage in the rotation during the regular season.
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