Blue Jays to promote prospect Trey Yesavage to Triple A, could be factor down the stretch: Sources
Yesavage is now one call away from walking back into those big-league facilities and home dugout. The Jays' top pitching prospect will be promoted to Triple-A Buffalo this week, a league source confirmed. With Toronto (69-50) fighting for playoff seeding in the final weeks of the 2025 season, Yesavage is now a call-up away from contributing to Toronto's pennant chase.
Advertisement
The 2024 first-round pick entered the year second in Keith Law's ranking of Blue Jays prospects. At the end of May, he ranked as the sixth-best right-handed pitching prospect in all of baseball and the 47th-overall prospect. Going into the 2024 MLB Draft, Law noted Yesavage was one of the most major-league ready arms in the class.
Starting his first professional season in Low-A Dunedin, Yesavage has now earned three promotions in five months, pushing to the top of Toronto's farm. Utilizing a funky arm slot and a four-pitch mix — including a plus fastball, slider and splitter — the 22-year-old struck out 134 batters in his first 80 2/3 minor-league innings. He owns the third-most strikeouts in all of minor-league baseball.
Yesavage experienced a slight command dip when promoted to Double A in June, walking seven batters in his first 6 2/3 innings, but has walked just four over the following six outings. He took three weeks off from game action around the 2025 All-Star break. The pause slowed the righty's rising workload, which should allow him to pitch through the end of the season without reaching an innings cap, league sources said.
In early August, Blue Jays manager John Schneider mentioned Yesavage, alongside lefty Adam Macko, as a potential big-league pitching option down the stretch.
'I think Yesavage could (factor in),' Schneider said. 'I know he's not on the 40-man, but I think he could.'
With five healthy starters in the big-league rotation and Shane Bieber and Alek Manoah working back from Tommy John surgeries at the top of Toronto's system, the Jays' starting pitching depth appears to be in a good place. However, Yesavage came out of the bullpen for the first time in his professional career last week, throwing five innings of relief with nine strikeouts at New Hampshire. That flexibility could position Yesavage to fill any role for Toronto in the final weeks of the season. He's already moved up three levels this season and now sits on the cusp of his big-league debut.
Spot the pattern. Connect the terms
Find the hidden link between sports terms
Play today's puzzle
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Kyle Shanahan doesn't expect Brandon Aiyuk to return from ACL injury until October at the earliest
The San Francisco 49ers don't expect Brandon Aiyuk back anytime soon. Aiyuk tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee against the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 20 last season, ending his 2024 campaign in Week 7. Head coach Kyle Shanahan addressed the status of the All-Pro wide receiver on Monday alongside that of backup rookie quarterback Kurtis Rourke and second-year safety Malik Mustapha, who are also recovering from torn ACLs. Shahanan declined to offer a definitive return timeline for any of them. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] "I always see them around Week 6," Shanahan said of their potential returns. "Which that could mean Week 10. That could be Week 5. "That's the area where I start thinking about it, which is a long ways away. I know it's not Week 1 or anything like that. So it's something I'm not thinking about too much. Signs point to Aiyuk starting season on PUP list The timeline Shanahan offered coincides with the NFL's physically unable to perform (PUP) list rules, indicating that all are on track to start the season on the reserve/PUP list. Aiyuk is currently on the preseason PUP list. If he starts the regular season on the reserve/PUP list, he wouldn't be eligible to return until Week 5. From there, players on the reserve/PUP list have through Week 9 to return to practice and 21 days from that point to be elevated to the active roster. Players who don't return within those guidelines remain on the reserve list for the remainder of the season. The most optimistic of Shanahan's projections — a Week 5 game against the Los Angeles Rams — would see Aiyuk return on Oct. 2 for what projects as a key NFC West matchup. That would mean a layoff of nearly a full year from his injury. A Week 10 return would place Aiyuk back in the lineup for another game against the Rams on Nov. 9. Each of those projected missed weeks would involve missing a game. The 49ers don't have their bye until Week 14. The bottom line here: Don't expect Aiyuk back until Week 5 at the earliest. Beyond that, his timeline remains murky. Who will step up from hobbled 49ers offense? The sooner Aiyuk returns, the better for the 49ers, obviously. Aiyuk broke out in 2023 with 75 catches for 1,342 yards (17.9 yards per reception) and seven touchdowns, an effort that earned him a selection as a second-team All-Pro. His effort eventually earned him a four-year, $120 million extension to his rookie contract following a holdout through most of 2024 training camp. Aiyuk's production dropped before his Week 7 injury, and he finished 2024 with 25 catches for 374 yards and no touchdowns through six-plus games. The 49ers are counting on him to return to his All-Pro form whenever he is cleared from his knee injury. The 49ers no longer employ longtime receiver Deebo Samuel, whom they traded to the Washington Commanders in the offseason. That leaves Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings atop the 49ers depth chart when healthy alongside second-year pro Ricky Pearsall, who remarkably recovered last season from a gunshot wound to the chest to play in 11 games and tally 400 yards and three touchdowns. Jennings has been sidelined with a calf injury during practice amid a reported desire for a new contract. Shanahan said recently that his absence from practice has been due to a legitimate injury and not because of his contract situation. A first-round selection in the 2024 Draft, Pearsall could be in line for a potential breakout on the heels of a healthy offseason with Aiyuk sidelined to start the season. The 49ers are also expected to be without fourth-round rookie receiver Jordan Watkins, who Shanahan said Monday will be sidelined for at least a month with a high-ankle sprain. The good injury news in San Francisco is that All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey has so far remained healthy through training camp after being limited to four games in 2024 due to multiple injuries to his calf, Achilles tendon and knee.
Washington Post
14 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Dan Quinn's latest training camp wrinkle? Commanders vs. Commanders.
Monday morning, on the 20th day since training camp began, the Washington Commanders arrived at their facility for a normal day. Coach Dan Quinn greeted them with a new wrinkle that carried the hallmarks of his summer practice strategy: creative, competitive, holistic and designed for both mental stimulation and physical preservation.
CBS News
14 minutes ago
- CBS News
From court to pin: A New Jersey Little Leaguer's controversial bat flip is now baseball memorabilia
The Little Leaguer whose family went to court to get a bat-flip suspension lifted has turned the viral moment into a piece of baseball memorabilia. Marco Rocco is now a pin. The 12-year-old from Haddonfield, New Jersey, was embroiled in a legal fight last month after he was ejected for flipping his bat as he celebrated a home run in the final of the Little League sectional tournament. He faced a suspension from his first state tournament game for the ejection and the bat flip until his father took Little League to court and won an emergency temporary restraining order that allowed Marco to play in the New Jersey state tournament. The flip is set to become part of the pin-trading culture that happens each year in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, during the Little League World Series. The pin depicts Rocco flipping the bat on his home-run trot to first base with "Batflip 2025" at the bottom and "Haddonfield" inscribed on the left side. The pin is not for sale and is jointly released by the Rocco family and by family friends and former major leaguers, Jeff and Todd Frazier. Only 75 pins were produced in honor of the 75th year of Haddonfield Little League and they will be traded only later this month at the Little League World Series. "They said it was a significant event in Little League this year," said Joe Rocco, Marco's father. "There was a lot of national attention on it, and they thought making a pin and keeping a pin at a limited number would be an interesting item at the Little League World Series." The Fraziers presented the pin idea to Rocco to depict the biggest Little League story to burst on the scene since Mo'ne Davis and he was instantly on board. Rocco said he was unfamiliar with pin-trading culture — which Little League says is widely believed to have started in the mid-1970s by a team from Taiwan — and was simply excited to attend the United States championship and Little League World Series final with his son. Marco tossed his bat in the air on July 16 after his sixth-inning, two-run homer in the final of the sectional tournament. He was ejected and suspended for a game over what his family was told were actions deemed "unsportsmanlike" and "horseplay." Rocco said dozens of parents reached out to him to either offer support or ask for advice on how to handle similar disputes. Rocco said there was, of course, some blowback for his decision to take Little League to court over a disputed decision. "It was chaotic, for a while, which is not what we wanted," Rocco said. The Roccos' day in court ended with the judge allowing Marco to play, and Little League did not appeal. Joe Rocco said he was told that Little League would not appeal the decision but would consider adding rules that would ban bat flipping. "I think after this summer they absolutely need to put some sort of rule on it, whether it goes one way or the other so there's clarity on it," Rocco said. "They need to be clear in the rules so this doesn't happen again." Joe Rocco owns youth sports performance training facility Kresson Sports with Ken Goldin. Goldin is the owner of Goldin Auctions and star of the reality show "King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch," and also had a son on the Haddonfield team. Yes, Goldin already has Marco's flipped bat in his collection. It will be auctioned. Anyone want to trade a pin for the bat?
