Trey Yesavage could be back with the Toronto Blue Jays as early as Sunday.

Yesavage last pitched for the Blue Jays on August 4, when he suffered a meniscus injury that required surgery. He threw 34 pitches in a rehab outing with the Buffalo Bisons on Tuesday. The outing wasn’t his best; he only lasted 0.2 innings while giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk. However, he averaged 93.3 MPH on his fastball, so his velocity was in good shape.

Yesavage is with the Blue Jays in Texas for their series against the Rangers. He could be activated for the series finale against the Rangers or on Monday for the series opener against the Baltimore Orioles.

The Blue Jays have been making do with a rotation of Dylan Cease, Jose Soriano, Max Scherzer and two bullpen days. Since Yesavage’s injury, Jameson Taillon and Shane Bieber have also been placed on the IL. Taillon is done for the season with a right elbow injury. Bieber has faced a setback in his recovery from a right shoulder injury.

Needless to say, the return of Yesavage will ease the load on the Blue Jays’ bullpen. Since August 4, Blue Jays relievers have pitched the second-most innings in MLB (176.2) while posting the ninth-lowest ERA (3.46).

Injuries to the starting rotation have put a lot of strain on the bullpen throughout 2026. Over the season, Blue Jays relievers have pitched the third-most innings in MLB (645.1) with the eighth-lowest ERA (3.70). Louis Varland is eighth in innings pitched (76) and 13th in appearances (69). Mason Fluharty is second in appearances (75), while Tyler Rogers is eighth (70).

The plan was that Yesavage would throw 40-45 pitches during his rehab start with the Bisons. Even if that is all the Blue Jays can expect from him once he’s activated, that is still a huge stress off the bullpen. Yesavage could likely make two appearances for the Blue Jays in the regular season regardless of whether he’s activated on Sunday or Monday. If he could last three innings in his first appearance and possibly go longer in his second, that would be a huge help to the Blue Jays’ bullpen.

It would also be a huge help to the other Blue Jays starters. The Blue Jays have been running with two bullpen games, making it extra important for their starters to get as deep as possible into games. The Blue Jays could still use as much length as possible out of the starting rotation, but the pressure to go long is not as high when they are running one bullpen game instead of two.

Yesavage’s return could also be a morale boost for the Blue Jays during an important final stretch of the season. All year, the Blue Jays have battled through injuries that have made it difficult to build momentum. Perhaps getting a player back healthy, especially one as important as Yesavage, could be just the boost they need to attack the rest of the season.

Yesavage’s first full season in MLB has been up and down. He had a late start due to a shoulder impingement. When he’s been healthy, he’s had high highs and low lows.

He’s posted a 3.65 ERA over 18 starts. He’s in the 81st percentile for hard-hit rate and the 75th percentile for barrel rate, so he’s been very effective at limiting hard contact.

The biggest issue Yesavage has faced is his walk rate, in which he ranks in the 13th percentile. He’s in the 84th percentile for whiff rate, so batters have a difficult time hitting his pitches, but his chase rate is only in the 44th percentile, so he’s not generating enough swing-and-miss. Instead, batters are laying off, leading to walks.

Despite struggling at times in 2026, Yesavage has a very high ceiling. It was most obvious during the 2025 playoffs, but it’s also shone through at times in 2026. When he first returned to the Blue Jays rotation at the end of April, he had a fantastic start to his season. Perhaps after some time away, he can once again come back firing for the Blue Jays.

There’s an odd bit of symmetry in Yesavage returning for the final stretch of the regular season. In 2025, he made his MLB debut on September 15. The Blue Jays had 12 games left in the regular season and were fighting to hold off the New York Yankees in the race for the AL East. He made three regular-season starts for the Blue Jays, all of which they won, helping Toronto to their first division title since 2015.

The situation in 2026 is different, but similar. Yesavage is coming back to the Blue Jays in the midst of a fight for the final American League wild card spot. Like in 2025, every game is crucial. The prize is different, but the stakes are just as high.

Last year, the Blue Jays were playing with house money. They held the lead and the tiebreaker over the Yankees. Still, they had very limited wiggle room in the division. This year, the Blue Jays are fighting from behind. They need to leapfrog teams to get into the wild card. Several teams are involved in the fight, and the only one the Blue Jays have secured the tiebreaker over at the moment is the Cleveland Guardians. The fight is on, but the Blue Jays have no margin for error for the rest of the season.

A year ago, Yesavage provided a spark that helped the Blue Jays win the division. Could he do the same in 2026 as the fight for a spot in the postseason?