Olney 'curious' as to how Blue Jays handle Yesavage, Bieber for stretch run

Fresh off the heels of a six-game road trip, the Toronto Blue Jays return home with a 4.5 game lead in the American League East and in sole possession of the best record in the junior circuit.

While the players had an off day on Monday, Ross Atkins and the front office still managed to make headlines with the promotion of Trey Yesavage, the organization’s newly minted top prospect, to Triple-A Buffalo.

Once the 22-year-old right-hander takes the mound for the Bisons, he will have pitched at four levels of the minor leagues this season, a rapid ascension through the organizational ranks in his first year of professional baseball.

Drafted with the 20th overall pick in the 2024 draft, Yesavage has pitched to a 3.01 earned run average, 0.93 WHIP and a 15.0 K/9 this year as he now stands on the doorstep of a potential debut in the major leagues.

With the team in prime position to play meaningful baseball in late September, and perhaps even into October, Yesavage could get a chance to feature for the team as they chase their first divisional title since 2015.

ESPN’s Buster Olney joined TSN1050’s First Up on Tuesday morning to discuss what the promotion could mean for both the young pitcher and the Blue Jays this season.

“Trey has an interesting history,” said Olney. “When he was at East Carolina, he pitched out of the bullpen. I haven’t seen him pitch in person, but the first thing that you ever hear about him always is, man, that guy’s got a reliever mentality. That guy’s got a bullpen makeup, he’s coming at you, like, he’s going to attack.”

Yesavage’s last appearance at Double-A before his promotion came from out of the bullpen, the first time in his professional career he’s done so, allowing two earned over five innings while striking out nine of the 19 batters he faced.

“I just love the fact that the Blue Jays are doing this because at the tradeline, the question, always, with general managers is are they all in? Are they trying to win? This is another aspect of that, another version of that.

“If you have a high-end prospect that might be able to help you in September and October, maybe you promote them sooner than you initially planned, and I’m going to be curious to see how they handle him going forward.”

While the jury is still out on whether or not Yesavage will see time in the big leagues this season, prized trade deadline acquisition Shane Bieber will almost certainly be up before the end of the season, barring a setback in his rehab, as his eventual team debut inches closer.

Bieber, a former Cy Young winner, made his second start in the organization over the weekend at Triple-A, throwing 78 pitches over 5 2/3 innings while racking up six strikeouts.

Manager John Schneider revealed that the right-hander, who underwent Tommy John surgery during the 2024 season, would need ‘probably one more’ start before being re-instated from the 60-day injured list to join Blue Jays for the stretch run.

“The fact that his stuff has been so good on this rehab is a really encouraging sign,” Olney added on Bieber. “ A lot of times when guys come back from an elbow surgery like that, their velocity is going to be down three or four ticks. His is not.

“He’s throwing all of his pitches, he’s throwing a lot of good stuff, he’s getting good results and if you know Shane at all, he’s very understated. So, when he’s talking about feeling encouraged and feeling excited, that’s a reason to get excited.”

But with Bieber on the cusp of returning, the Blue Jays have a decision on their hands regarding the starting rotation.

The team could opt to go for a six-man rotation, offering pitchers some extra rest as the dog days of summer roll into early autumn, or they could send one of their five current starters to the bullpen.

“The teams I’ve covered in the past, what happens a lot, privately, is they go and talk to the big dogs in the rotation… and get their feedback,” said Olney. "I think that weighs in heavily to whatever they are going to decide.

“You’re not going to use Chris Bassitt out of the bullpen, you’re not going to use [Jose] Berrios out of the bullpen, you’re not going to use [Kevin] Gausman out of the bullpen… I suspect that Eric Lauer would be the most logical candidate to put there.”

The Blue Jays kick off a three-game set against the scuffling Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night with Jose Berrios taking the mound opposite Ben Brown.