<p>If a need arises before this season concludes, there&#8217;s now a very realistic chance that Trey Yesavage could make his major league debut in 2025 &#8212; just over a year after he was selected 20th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays organization. </p>
<p>Yesavage, <a href="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/2025/08/11/toronto-blue-jays-trey-yesavage-promoted-bisons/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">promoted to triple-A Buffalo on Monday</a>, has reached the fourth minor-league level of his inaugural campaign in pro ball and is now on the doorstep of the major leagues. Once he joins the Bisons, the franchise&#8217;s No. 1 prospect, per <a href="https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/bluejays/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MLB Pipeline</a>, will be just a phone call away from joining the big-league club.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trey Yesavage is heading to Triple-A Buffalo, per multiple reports.</p>
<p>This will be the fourth minor-league level that Yesavage has pitched at this season.</p>
<p>The Blue Jays&#39; top prospect has made 19 appearances (18 starts) this season, pitching to a 3.01 ERA with 134 strikeouts. <a href="https://t.co/o2uijkBfEB">pic.twitter.com/o2uijkBfEB</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Blue Jays Nation (@thejaysnation) <a href="https://twitter.com/thejaysnation/status/1954993274231623975?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 11, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Things couldn&#8217;t have played out more perfectly thus far. It&#8217;s been a remarkable year for Yesavage, who owns a 3.01 ERA and 2.50 FIP with a 32.8-per-cent strikeout-to-walk rate difference (K-BB%) in 19 games (18 starts) across 80.2 innings. And, as someone who logged 93.1 frames in his final season at East Carolina in 2024, the 22-year-old should still have plenty left in the tank.</p>
<p>The Blue Jays have been conserving the right-hander&#8217;s innings for months to prepare for this exact scenario. All along, they&#8217;ve wanted to ensure he had the opportunity to play a role in the majors down the stretch, and now he does.</p>
<p>Granted, Yesavage still has a few hurdles to clear at triple-A before that can happen. Among them will surely be proving he can attack the strike zone consistently against more advanced hitters. That&#8217;s an area where he&#8217;s struggled each time he&#8217;s been promoted to a new level this season, issuing 10 combined walks over his first three starts at high-A and 11 in his first five at double-A.</p>
<p>But each time, he&#8217;s been able to settle in and pound the strike zone again. Take his stint in New Hampshire, for example. After battling his command early on, the 6-foot-4 starter didn&#8217;t walk a single batter over his final three outings while punching out nearly 50 per cent of his 47 batters faced.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s the type of swing-and-miss the Blue Jays would love to add to their pitching staff ahead of a playoff run. How would they make room for Yesavage? Well, there are likely multiple different ways he could impact the major-league roster.</p>
<h2>Spot Starter</h2>
<p>At the moment, Toronto&#8217;s starting rotation includes five healthy starters, with a rehabbing Shane Bieber &#8212; and Alek Manoah behind him &#8212; not far off from joining them <a href="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/2025/08/09/toronto-blue-jays-shane-bieber-allows-two-runs-struck-out-six-latest-rehab-outing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">following a pair of impressive triple-A rehab starts</a>. So, there isn&#8217;t a clear pathway to a starter&#8217;s job for Yesavage, at least for the time being.</p>
<p>That could always change once/if the Blue Jays invoke a six-man rotation. While that&#8217;d be mostly about creating a spot for Bieber, it may also incentivize the team to phantom IL a veteran starter for a few weeks, affording a temporary rotation spot for the organization&#8217;s top prospect. Executing such a plan would undoubtedly be much easier after rosters expand to 28 players in September, though.</p>
<p>Still, for a staff that may lose both Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer in free agency this winter, having Yesavage debut as a major league starter this season may improve his case to break camp as a member of the &#8217;26 rotation next spring.</p>
<h2>Multi-Inning Reliever</h2>
<p>Providing length out of Toronto&#8217;s bullpen is probably the role best suited for Yesavage down the stretch, which is part of the reason he <a href="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/2025/08/08/toronto-blue-jays-trey-yesavage-ks-nine-over-five-innings-two-run-ball-fisher-cats/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">completed five innings of relief in his final double-A outing on Friday</a>.</p>
<p>It was the first time he hadn&#8217;t started a game all season. However, it also provided a glimpse into how he could be utilized if promoted to the majors next month, if not sooner.</p>
<p>The Blue Jays are currently without a traditional multi-inning reliever. They&#8217;ve previously used arms like Paxton Schultz, Eric Lauer (who&#8217;s become a key member of the rotation), Lazaro Estrada, José Ureña and Easton Lucas. But none can provide the type of high-level upside that Yesavage would bring.</p>
<p>Right now, if one of Toronto&#8217;s starters departed early, whether due to poor performance &#8212; like we witnessed with Eric Lauer during Sunday&#8217;s chaotic finale in Los Angeles &#8212; or injury, it&#8217;d put immense strain on the &#8216;pen. With Yesavage as their long man, though, he&#8217;d provide a safety net for such an occurrence and could help keep them in games.</p>
<h2>High-Leverage Reliever</h2>
<p>Let&#8217;s get creative here for a second.</p>
<p>Chances are that Yesavage will be used as a multi-inning reliever if he debuts with the Blue Jays this season. But what if he wasn&#8217;t? What if, instead, he became an option for high-leverage situations? Just imagine how much his arsenal could tick up in short bursts out of the &#8216;pen.</p>
<p>It&#8217;d likely push his over-the-top mid-90s four-seamer into the high-90s, making it even more untouchable with its high-riding action at the top of the strike zone. Shorter outings would also allow him to stash away his average curveball, putting increased emphasis on his plus slider and splitter as his secondary weapons.</p>
<p>The Blue Jays have gone to this blueprint before, converting Aaron Sanchez into a high-leverage reliever prior to his MLB debut in 2014, and they took a similar path with Nate Pearson after injuries derailed his starting career. Plus, Yesavage worked as a late-innings reliever during his freshman season at ECU, earning a pair of saves across 34 relief appearances. He also picked up his third career save as a sophomore during the following season before transitioning to the rotation.</p>
<p><a href="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/2025/08/09/looking-toronto-blue-jays-could-deploy-bullpen-moving-forward/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toronto isn&#8217;t short on high-leverage arms</a>, especially after acquiring Seranthony Domínguez and Louis Varland ahead of the trade deadline, pairing them with the likes of closer Jeff Hoffman, Yariel Rodríguez, Braydon Fisher and Brendon Little &#8212; with Yimi García also a part of that mix when healthy.</p>
<p>But as teams attempt to shorten games with their bullpens in the playoffs, you never know when an explosive arm like Yesavage&#8217;s might come in handy.</p>

If a need arises before this season concludes, there's now a very realistic chance that Trey Yesavage could make his major league debut in 2025 -- just over a year after he was selected 20th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays organization. 

Yesavage, <a href="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/2025/08/11/toronto-blue-jays-trey-yesavage-promoted-bisons/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">promoted to triple-A Buffalo on Monday</a>, has reached the fourth minor-league level of his inaugural campaign in pro ball and is now on the doorstep of the major leagues. Once he joins the Bisons, the franchise's No. 1 prospect, per <a href="https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/bluejays/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MLB Pipeline</a>, will be just a phone call away from joining the big-league club.

https://twitter.com/thejaysnation/status/1954993274231623975

Things couldn't have played out more perfectly thus far. It's been a remarkable year for Yesavage, who owns a 3.01 ERA and 2.50 FIP with a 32.8-per-cent strikeout-to-walk rate difference (K-BB%) in 19 games (18 starts) across 80.2 innings. And, as someone who logged 93.1 frames in his final season at East Carolina in 2024, the 22-year-old should still have plenty left in the tank.

The Blue Jays have been conserving the right-hander's innings for months to prepare for this exact scenario. All along, they've wanted to ensure he had the opportunity to play a role in the majors down the stretch, and now he does.

Granted, Yesavage still has a few hurdles to clear at triple-A before that can happen. Among them will surely be proving he can attack the strike zone consistently against more advanced hitters. That's an area where he's struggled each time he's been promoted to a new level this season, issuing 10 combined walks over his first three starts at high-A and 11 in his first five at double-A.

But each time, he's been able to settle in and pound the strike zone again. Take his stint in New Hampshire, for example. After battling his command early on, the 6-foot-4 starter didn't walk a single batter over his final three outings while punching out nearly 50 per cent of his 47 batters faced.

That's the type of swing-and-miss the Blue Jays would love to add to their pitching staff ahead of a playoff run. How would they make room for Yesavage? Well, there are likely multiple different ways he could impact the major-league roster.
<h2>Spot Starter</h2>
At the moment, Toronto's starting rotation includes five healthy starters, with a rehabbing Shane Bieber -- and Alek Manoah behind him -- not far off from joining them <a href="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/2025/08/09/toronto-blue-jays-shane-bieber-allows-two-runs-struck-out-six-latest-rehab-outing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">following a pair of impressive triple-A rehab starts</a>. So, there isn't a clear pathway to a starter's job for Yesavage, at least for the time being.

That could always change once/if the Blue Jays invoke a six-man rotation. While that'd be mostly about creating a spot for Bieber, it may also incentivize the team to phantom IL a veteran starter for a few weeks, affording a temporary rotation spot for the organization's top prospect. Executing such a plan would undoubtedly be much easier after rosters expand to 28 players in September, though.

Still, for a staff that may lose both Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer in free agency this winter, having Yesavage debut as a major league starter this season may improve his case to break camp as a member of the '26 rotation next spring.
<h2>Multi-Inning Reliever</h2>
Providing length out of Toronto's bullpen is probably the role best suited for Yesavage down the stretch, which is part of the reason he <a href="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/2025/08/08/toronto-blue-jays-trey-yesavage-ks-nine-over-five-innings-two-run-ball-fisher-cats/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">completed five innings of relief in his final double-A outing on Friday</a>.

It was the first time he hadn't started a game all season. However, it also provided a glimpse into how he could be utilized if promoted to the majors next month, if not sooner.

The Blue Jays are currently without a traditional multi-inning reliever. They've previously used arms like Paxton Schultz, Eric Lauer (who's become a key member of the rotation), Lazaro Estrada, José Ureña and Easton Lucas. But none can provide the type of high-level upside that Yesavage would bring.

Right now, if one of Toronto's starters departed early, whether due to poor performance -- like we witnessed with Eric Lauer during Sunday's chaotic finale in Los Angeles -- or injury, it'd put immense strain on the 'pen. With Yesavage as their long man, though, he'd provide a safety net for such an occurrence and could help keep them in games.
<h2>High-Leverage Reliever</h2>
Let's get creative here for a second.

Chances are that Yesavage will be used as a multi-inning reliever if he debuts with the Blue Jays this season. But what if he wasn't? What if, instead, he became an option for high-leverage situations? Just imagine how much his arsenal could tick up in short bursts out of the 'pen.

It'd likely push his over-the-top mid-90s four-seamer into the high-90s, making it even more untouchable with its high-riding action at the top of the strike zone. Shorter outings would also allow him to stash away his average curveball, putting increased emphasis on his plus slider and splitter as his secondary weapons.

The Blue Jays have gone to this blueprint before, converting Aaron Sanchez into a high-leverage reliever prior to his MLB debut in 2014, and they took a similar path with Nate Pearson after injuries derailed his starting career. Plus, Yesavage worked as a late-innings reliever during his freshman season at ECU, earning a pair of saves across 34 relief appearances. He also picked up his third career save as a sophomore during the following season before transitioning to the rotation.

<a href="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/2025/08/09/looking-toronto-blue-jays-could-deploy-bullpen-moving-forward/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toronto isn't short on high-leverage arms</a>, especially after acquiring Seranthony Domínguez and Louis Varland ahead of the trade deadline, pairing them with the likes of closer Jeff Hoffman, Yariel Rodríguez, Braydon Fisher and Brendon Little -- with Yimi García also a part of that mix when healthy.

But as teams attempt to shorten games with their bullpens in the playoffs, you never know when an explosive arm like Yesavage's might come in handy.

Examining how Trey Yesavage can help Blue Jays this season

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