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How Trey Yesavage could factor into Blue Jays’ fall bullpen plans
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Photo credit: Fisher Cats PR
Ian Finlayson
Sep 12, 2025, 14:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 12, 2025, 12:22 EDT
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It’s been a tale of two halves for the Toronto Blue Jays’ bullpen, and one steady climb for their top pitching prospect, Trey Yesavage.  
To start the season, the bullpen was a top ten group in ERA, WHIP and strikeout minus walk rate. Since the All-Star break, they’ve been bottom five in ERA and WHIP and below average in K-BB%. After posting a higher walk rate in August than any other bullpen had in a month over the last two seasons, and struggling with results, a group that once seemed bulletproof has been looking more like swiss cheese.  
Now, since the Sept. 1 deadline has passed, the Blue Jays have only one more card up their sleeve to augment their relief corps. That’s No. 1 prospect Yesavage, who has savagely torn through opposing batters on his rapid ascension through every minor-league level this year. 
The numbers are staggering. A 3.12 ERA with 160 strikeouts and only 42 walks over 98 innings. The best strikeout rate (41.1%) and K-BB% (30.6%) in affiliated ball (min. 65 IP). Yes, better than recent call-ups Jonah Tong and Payton Tolle. He has a 93rd percentile whiff rate since arriving at Triple-A.
All of this was punctuated by Yesavage’s most recent outing, a start where he was perfect over three innings for Buffalo. The right-hander threw 28-of-34 pitches for strikes, getting nine whiffs and striking out four.  
It’s easy to see why he remains on the Blue Jays’ radar as a potential contributor, while his development at triple-A is still prioritized, as Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson Smith reported after Yesavage was briefly moved to the bullpen at the start of September.  
It is also intriguing that even when Yesavage has started games recently, the outings have been shorter, more comparable to the type of usage seen by a reliever. It’s easier for a pitcher to max out their stuff when throwing in shorter bursts. 
Even though the deadline for players to be added to the 40-man roster and remain eligible for the postseason has passed, there are still loopholes that would allow Yesavage to join the team and even pitch in a playoff series. First, he must keep dealing and stay healthy as he has already pushed past his career high in innings and nears his ceiling for the season. Next, the Blue Jays would have to have an injury that would create an opportunity for Yesavage to join the roster. Finally, they would have to apply to the commissioner’s office for an exemption for Yesavage to join the postseason roster, which is mostly a formality and would likely be granted. This set of circumstances is similar to the late-season call-ups of Jackson Jobe last year or David Price in 2008.  
In this scenario, it is improbable that Yesavage would be thrown into leverage right away. The Blue Jays would want to test him and slowly ramp up deploying him in more consequential spots. It’s also worth noting that Yesavage has often struggled in his first outing after moving up a level this season, so expecting immediate success out of the gate may not be realistic.  
Yet the 22-year-old is an intriguing option for several reasons. He has been primarily used as a starter, so it stands to reason that he would have the utility to provide multiple innings if needed, a role that is currently only provided by left-hander Eric Lauer. If the Blue Jays were to opt to keep him to one inning, the prospect of the best strikeout artist in all of MiLB’s stuff playing up in shorter spurts also leaves plenty to dream on.  
Yesavage’s over-the-top arm slot is incredibly unique. He throws from an average arm angle of 72.2 degrees according to prospect savant, a steeper angle than any current MLB pitcher. His release point is higher than seven feet on average and would be among the highest in the majors, along with Justin Verlander and Pete Fairbanks. It’s a look that hitters simply do not see, which can often be enough to keep them off balance and be effective.  
Based on the metrics available to front offices, pitchers’ success has become easier to predict at the major league level than hitters. The Blue Jays will have a good idea of how effective Yesavage will be upon being called up based on his stuff, the shape of his pitches and his command.  
Now, the opportunity only has to arise for us to see one of the most meteoric prospect rises in Blue Jays’ history come to fruition.  
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