Is the Blue Jays rotation in trouble after Yesways IL news?

The news wasn’t surprising on Thursday when it was announced that the Toronto Blue Jays would place top young starter Trey Yesavage on the injured list to start the season. They had been playing gently with him all spring. He reported feeling something was not right at the camp.

But with the announcement that he’s going on the IL to start the year with a “shoulder impingement,” it’s perfectly clear what the issue is.

Let’s all remember that Yesways is still only 22 years old. He came in as a rookie at the end of last season, and got in only 14 regular season innings before arriving on the biggest stage in baseball in the postseason. He was incredible in his 27.2 playoff innings, and not the least bit fazed by the bright lights of the World Series. But at 125 total innings, that was nearly 30% more than the year before in his last NCAA season.

So what happens with the Blue Jays’ rotation now? This news follows the news that Jose Berrios will also start on the IL as he works through a stress fracture in his elbow. And we all know about Justin Bieber, who was kicked out of Opening Days plans long ago.

What does the Blue Jays’ five-man rotation look like now after Yesway’s injury?

Thankfully, the Jays prepared themselves for these types of pitching injuries (as every MLB team should!). The late re-signing of Max Scherzer and the continued presence of swingman Eric Lauer means Toronto could still start a rotation that looks like this:

  • Kevin Gausman
  • dialing off
  • max shazer
  • Cody Ponce
  • Eric Lauer

So, let’s take a look: The two-time All-Star and recent AL strikeout champion on Opening Day. The $210 million freshman with five consecutive 200-K seasons is next. Then there’s a left-hander (Lauer) who completely reworked himself into the rotation last season (3.77 ERA).

Next comes Cody Ponce. He is returning to North America after completely dominating Korea last season. He has continued this into spring training as well. He allowed only one hit in 5.2 scoreless innings against the NY Yankees on Thursday, dropping his Grapefruit League ERA to 0.66 in 13.2 innings.

And ultimately, the Jays completed their cycle with the only three-time Cy Young winner.

Blue Jays’ impressive pitching depth could survive 3 starters on IL

And as the Jays beat writer Keegan Matheson on TSN’s Overdrive, many teams around baseball couldn’t escape defeat Three The Blue Jays can do just as well with the starters in their rotation.

“This depth is really impressive. I remember we were talking a few weeks ago, ‘Where is Max Scherzer going to pitch?’ Well, he’s going to pitch right here. These things work on their own all the time, Matheson said. “If they had signed 20 starters, 15 of them would have got hurt. That’s just the way it works.”

As for Yesvez, he said that after working on his shoulder throughout the spring, he is “feeling good now” and the pain is gone. He’s still pitching, and, according to Sportsnet’s Shea Davidy, “Yesvez is scheduled to be back on a mound next Wednesday, with his upcoming steps being ‘building, building innings, getting pitch counts to a comfortable spot so I can be a starter,'” the young pitcher concluded.

So, there is no reason to panic at all at this point in the Toronto camp. The rotation should be in very good hands until all of the injured walking backs return. Then we’ll have another problem to worry about. But this whole “too many beginners” dilemma can only be a good thing.

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