Blue Jays Roll the Dice on Rookie as AL East Heats Up

The Blue Jays are closing in on October, and now they’re turning to a fresh arm to help finish the job. Toronto intends to promote Trey Yesavage, their 2024 first-round pick, by Monday, according to Shi Davidi and Ben Nocholson-Smith. It’s a stunning move considering the 22-year-old right-hander began the year in Low-A Dunedin and has climbed all the way to the big leagues in a single season.

Yesavage made just six appearances at Triple-A Buffalo, four of them starts, but struck out 26 in 17.1 innings with a 3.63 ERA. Across the minors this year, he’s piled up 160 strikeouts in 98 innings with a 3.12 ERA, showing off a four-pitch mix highlighted by a fastball, slider, and a nasty splitter that generates whiffs from both righties and lefties. 

Scouts grade all three offerings as above-average, with the splitter flashing plus.

The move also speaks to Toronto’s most glaring question mark. The Blue Jays’ bullpen has been middle of the pack this season, carrying a 4.03 ERA that ranks 13th in MLB with a 62.9 percent save rate and 23 blown saves. Closer Jeff Hoffman has been steady, but the setup corps has cracked too often, forcing John Schneider to mix and match. September has looked better — the group trimmed its ERA closer to 3.50 and limited home runs — yet the inconsistency has been enough that adding a high-strikeout arm like Yesavage could be the difference between holding leads and letting the division slip away.

For a Blue Jays team with 15 games left and a magic number of 13 to clinch the AL East, Yesavage’s arrival isn’t about easing him into the majors. It’s about giving manager John Schneider a strikeout weapon in the middle innings as Toronto battles to lock down the division over the Yankees and Rays. The Jays already have veterans Max Scherzer, Shane Bieber, and José Berríos lined up for the front of a postseason rotation. Yesavage, with his strikeout rate and ability to miss bats in traffic, is more likely to slot into a multi-inning relief role. He could be used as a piggyback to manage starter innings or a bridge arm who can shorten games and keep the bullpen fresh.

The Blue Jays’ schedule gives him a trial by fire: back-to-back series with the Rays could decide the division, and Yesavage may be asked to face Tampa Bay right away. It’s risky to hand that assignment to a rookie with only a handful of Triple-A innings, but Toronto clearly believes the upside outweighs the gamble.

If he handles the moment, Yesavage could be the rare September call-up who changes a pennant race.