Trey Yesavage continued to work towards a big-league return on Tuesday, making his fourth rehab appearance of the season.
Yesavage ultimately threw 2.1 innings for the triple-A Buffalo Bisons and was charged with four runs, two of which were unearned against the Columbus Clippers. The 22-year-old also allowed two hits and four walks while striking out two.
The six-foot-four righty tossed 64 pitches and 37 strikes on the night, but notably struggled with his command in the third inning, when he issued three free passes. The goal entering the night was for Yesavage to reach 75 pitches.
Yesavage averaged 94.3 m.p.h. on 26 fastballs while mixing in 20 sliders and 18 splitters.
“It’s just determining if we want those 80 (with the Blue Jays) or (if) you want him to go one more,” the manager said, per Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi.
A breakout post-season star in 2025, Yesavage seemed to be on his way to a scoreless first inning after retiring two of the first three batters. But when Columbus’s cleanup hitter Nolan Jones bounced a soft grounder back to the mound, Yesavage bobbled the ball and threw low to first baseman Charles McAdoo.
The ball went down the line, allowing Travis Bazzana to score from first and Jones to advance all the way to third. The next batter, Cooper Ingle, brought Jones home with a soft single to centre before Yesavage escaped the frame with a pop out.
Yesavage settled in for the second, pitching a 1-2-3 inning. But he laboured through a 34-pitch third, allowing a double and three walks — the last of which brought home a run for the Clippers.
Brendan Cellucci entered in relief after the run-scoring walk and surrendered a sacrifice fly before escaping the jam with no further damage.
Yesavage began the season on the injured list due to a shoulder impingement that flared up during spring training.
He had previously made two rehab appearances with class-A Dunedin and one with Buffalo. In his last start with the Bisons, Yesavage struck out five over 4.1 innings of three-run ball. He allowed two home runs and seven hits while tossing 71 pitches — 42 for strikes.
The Blue Jays are hoping that Yesavage can return sooner rather than later to boost a battered rotation, which is also missing injured starters José Berríos, Shane Bieber and Cody Ponce.
