Trey Yesavage of the Toronto Blue Jays tipped his cap to the crowd after being relieved in the sixth inning of a game against the Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre on April 28, 2026. The occasion was deserving of more noise and certainly greater applause. Yesavage walked from the bullpen to the dugout and then from the dugout to the mound on Tuesday, and it sounded no different than most Loonie Dogs nights sound at Rogers Centre. Hardly anyone was standing as the kid made his way to throw his first pitches of what amounts to his first full major-league season. Hardly anyone was giving the moment its due.
This was Yesavage. The kid who did the near-impossible last summer, racing through five levels of baseball. The kid who struck out 12 against the Los Angeles Dodgers in one World Series outing. The kid who struck out 11 against the New York Yankees in the playoffs. The kid without nerves, who managed the unlikely, making more post-season starts for the Blue Jays than he had made in total in his September callup. Our kid.
Manager's Expectations
Blue Jays manager John Schneider was talking about this in the early afternoon. He was not sure what kind of reception Yesavage would get in his first start of this rather unimpressive first month of the new season for the Jays. But certainly, Schneider believed the hello would be louder and longer than it was. It is not like Toronto to be docile on what should be an emotional return. It is not like Toronto to be semi-quiet in applauding its own. But maybe this was just a touch of shyness of this difficult new season.
Catcher's Perspective
"He is a pro," said catcher Tyler Heineman. "I do not look at this as a rookie coming up. You do not do what he did (last October) and think of him as a rookie. This is his Opening Day, so that does mean something. It is a great opportunity for him. He has already proven what he is. There is a reason he did what he did last season. He has the talent. Whatever happens tonight is not necessarily indicative of what he can do. He has already shown what he can do."
The Blue Jays have Kevin Gausman at the top of their rotation, followed closely by Dylan Cease. The two are both exceptional starting pitchers. Yesavage can be third on the list, possibly greater than that, to give Toronto a 1-2-3 that few teams in baseball can match.
Recovery from Injury
Yesavage had a shoulder impingement in Florida that kept him from starting the season with the Jays. There was some concern as to when he would begin pitching in Toronto. And there he sat in the clubhouse Tuesday afternoon, on the couch where many of the players sit and play cards, staring at his cell phone, not hiding from his teammates the way many starting pitchers hide, not giving off the Roy Halladay don't-look-at-me vibe. That is not who he is. He is just a 22-year-old who stares at his phone a lot, the way most 22-year-olds do.
You could not tell watching him in the clubhouse that anything special was happening at night. If he felt any nerves, he sure did not show it. Tension is for other pitchers, not for this guy. He wears No. 39 and it is not because he happens to be a giant fan of Larry Csonka, Dave Parker, or Dominik Hasek, not that there is anything wrong with any of those. It is just his number.
Performance on the Mound
What matters is he threw into the sixth inning against the Red Sox on Loonie Dogs night, was not overwhelming, striking out just three, but did not walk anybody, did not give up a run, earned or otherwise. He threw with his unusual delivery, one that cannot, for now, be duplicated on a hitting simulator. Eventually, hitters will adjust to him and he will be forced to adjust to them, but for now he has made nine big-league starts, eight of them damn impressive, eight of them making you wonder just how special this young man is and still is going to be.
Team Outlook
The Jays are getting to the end of the first full month of the season with almost half the roster hurting. They need Yesavage healthy. They need him strong to contend. They need something resembling good news. His exit on Loonie Dogs night sounded different than his entrance. But it still was not enough, considering the sold-out crowd of 41,949. It should have been a standing ovation. There should have been more applause, more noise. The ending deserved that kind of attention.
Trey Yesavage came home and delivered for the Blue Jays. The way he almost always does. The way he has you wondering: What comes next?
