Figuring out Trey Yesavage’s role for the Blue Jays

Trey Yesavage will make his MLB debut for the Blue Jays on Monday when he starts against the Rays, but will that be his role going forward?

My best guess is that’s a question that will have a clearer answer once we’ve seen the 22-year-old in action. I have to admit that I’m a little surprised that he’s going to be in the rotation when there are six viable starting pitchers currently on the roster, and I wrote about how he could fit into the bullpen on Sunday. That said, the more I think about it, the more it makes sense to me, and I just wonder if starting is the plan for what’s left of the 2025 campaign after Monday.

In the immediate term, I can completely understand why the Blue Jays would let Yesavage start in his MLB debut. It’s the role he’s been most comfortable with and obviously has the most experience doing, and that’s a good place to start when you’re taking the ball for the first time in the big leagues. It also gives the Jays the benefit of giving their veteran starters an extra day of rest, and in particular pushes Jose Berrios back from Monday to Tuesday. Berrios has received some extra rest over the last month after struggling a bit in the second half, and he looked a lot sharper during his last outing, so the logic makes sense.

Then I got thinking about what the Blue Jays have left for a regular season, and how they might wanna start lining up their rotation for the playoffs. Of course, that won’t matter if they’re able to hang on to a top-two spot in the American League and earn a bye through the Wild Card round, but it’s wise to think ahead and still plan for either scenario.

If that factored into their thinking at all, and they might roll with a 6-man rotation, this is how the starters would be laid out for the final 13 games:

Sept 15 @TB-      Yesavage**
Sept 16 @TB-      Berrios
Sept 17 @TB-      Gausman
Sept 18 @TB-      Bassitt
Sept 19 @KC-      Scherzer
Sept 20 @KC-     Bieber
Sept 21 @KC-      Yesavage**

OFF DAY

Sept 23 vs BOS-  Berrios
Sept 24 vs BOS-  Gausman
Sept 25 vs BOS-  Bassitt
Sept 26 vs TB-    Scherzer
Sept 27 vs. TB-    Bieber
Sept 28 vs. TB-    Yesavage**

With the Wild Card round scheduled to start on Sept 30, that would put Gausman on regular rest to pitch in Game 1 should the Jays find themselves in that spot, which feels like a likely outcome to me. I can’t imagine that something like this alone would motivate the Blue Jays to put Yesavage into the rotation during a tight division race, but the chance to give their veterans some extra rest, while more easily being able to shuffle their starters the way they want, could be an added benefit. Again, they can avoid all of that and buy themselves all the time they need by finishing as a top 2 AL playoff team, and hopefully that’s how things play out in two weeks. They can also shift the pitchers around with the off day on Monday, and that will likely be determined once the Jays know whether they are heading to a bye round or if the Wild Card is in play.

I still believe that Yesavage will ultimately end up in the bullpen if the Blue Jays are serious about getting him to help their pursuit of a World Series title in 2025. To put it bluntly, the need is far greater in the pen than it is in the rotation these days. They’re in a strong position as far as starters go, especially when they can get down to only needing 3-4 in the playoffs, and it’s hard to imagine him earning a playoff start with just 13 games left in the season.