The Toronto Blue Jays provided positive updates on the recovery of four injured pitchers on Monday, with starter Trey Yesavage the closest of the four to making a return to the active roster.
Per MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson, Yesavage is scheduled to throw a simulated game on Friday, where he will throw around three innings and 45 pitches. Additionally, starter Jose Berrios is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Tuesday and a live bullpen on Saturday. Reliever Yimi Garcia will throw a bullpen session on Tuesday and starter Shane Bieber is scheduled to throw off a mount for the first time on Saturday.
Trey Yesavage will throw a sim game on Friday around 3 innings and 45 pitches.
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) March 30, 2026
• José Berríos will throw bullpen tomorrow, then a live BP on Saturday
• Yimi García will throw a bullpen tomorrow
• Shane Bieber will throw off a mound for the first time Saturday #BlueJays
It’s an encouraging update for all four pitchers after each were forced to start the season on the Injured List.
Yesavage is dealing with a shoulder impingement in his right arm, Berrios is recovering from a stress fracture to his pitching elbow sustained in Spring Training, Garcia is continuing to recover from elbow surgery in September of 2025, and Bieber is dealing with elbow inflammation that kept him from pitching at all during Spring Training.
Despite the numerous injuries to the pitching staff - it’s rare for a team to be missing three rotation pieces on Opening Day - the Blue Jays have been able to fill their rotation with five arms.
The Blue Jays set a major-league record over their season-opening series sweep over the Athletics, as the team combined to strike out 50 opposing hitters in the first three games. Those numbers were bolstered significantly by strong starts from Kevin Gausman (11 strikeouts), off-season addition Dylan Cease (12 strikeouts) and Eric Lauer (nine strikeouts).
Cody Ponce, who was signed in the off-season following a brilliant season pitching in Korea in 2025, made his Blue Jays debut on Monday but was carted off in the third inning after appearing to suffer an injury to his right leg.
Yesavage’s return may be the most exciting of the four - the rookie is the No. 11 prospect in baseball entering the season, according to MLB Pipeline.
However, he looked like anything but a rookie in the postseason in 2025, as his final start of the year for the Blue Jays saw him throw seven dominant innings in a Game 5 victory in the World Series where he set the MLB record for strikeouts by a rookie in a World Series game with 12. In his final appearance of the season, he was credited with a hold after throwing 1.2 innings and allowing a run in Game 7 before the Blue Jays ultimately fell in 11 innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
