Blue Jays injury news: Guerrero doing light work, Yesavage and Taillon resume throwing

Before Tuesday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Toronto Blue Jays provided some updates on a few injured players. Those included Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Trey Yesavage and Jameson Taillon, all of whom could provide a big boost to the Blue Jays down the stretch as they continue fighting for a spot in the postseason.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

In the case of Guerrero, the 27-year-old is looking to comeback from a stint on the 7-day concussion injured list. He suffered the injury on Friday (Aug. 14) when he slid into third and in the process, Yankees infielder George Lombard Jr. was trying to field a ball and his knee collided with Guerrero's head.

Guerrero was doing light on-field workouts at Tropicana Field and was expected to hit in the batting cages on either Tuesday or Wednesday but will still be monitored day-to-day by the Blue Jays, according to Sportsnet's Arden Zwelling.

Guerrero was slashing .263/.337/.356 at the time of his injury with only seven home runs. At this rate, he's on pace to play in the fewest amount of games since his rookie season in 2019 (excluding the COVID-shortened year). That year he played in 123 games, after getting called up to the big leagues on Apr. 24, 2019.

There are 35 games left on Toronto's schedule after Tuesday night's game. Even if Guerrero were to play on Wednesday and start in every game until the end of the season he would "only" get to 150 games. Despite the down season, this is another testament to Guerrero's incredible durability over his tenure with Toronto.

Two Blue Jays' pitchers could help reinforce the rotation down the stretch

Trey Yesavage

The fact that Yesavage is throwing at all right now is quite remarkable. The 23-year-old had surgery on his left knee just last week and he was already throwing on flat ground on Tuesday in Dunedin, Fla., at Toronto's player development complex. He had meniscus surgery to repair a tear he suffered during a game on Aug. 4 in Houston.

In his first full season in the big leagues, Yesavage has a 3.65 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 93.2 innings pitched. The hope for Yesavage is that he can come back in time to pitch in some important games for the Blue Jays - the exact same role he filled last year. In 2025, Yesavage made his MLB debut in September and was a key part in the Blue Jays' run to the World Series.

Jameson Taillon

Taillon was picked up in a trade with the Chicago Cubs at the trade deadline. The 34-year-old was put on waivers by the Cubs and scooped up by Toronto to provide them with some insurance as it appeared they were going to be sellers and possibly shipping off a number of starters.

Instead, only Kevin Gausman was dealt, ironically to the Cubs, while other pending free agents Shane Bieber and Max Scherzer were still with the team once the deadline passed. The Blue Jays also picked up José Soriano from the LA Angels and Spencer Arrighetti from the Astros.

It's a good thing the dominos fell as they did since Taillon lasted only two starts with the Blue Jays. In his home debut he left the game after four innings, feeling discomfort in his right forearm on Aug.10 and was placed on the IL shortly after.

Taillon could be another useful piece at the back end of the rotation if he can get healthy. While he posted a 5.68 ERA in 17 starts with Chicago this season, he's also got a ton of big league experience and has a couple of postseason runs under his belt as well. He was throwing off flat ground in Tampa Bay, and is said to be progressing very well in his recovery.

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