Blue Jays injury updates: Jameson Taillon nears return while Trey Yesavage takes encouraging step

The Toronto Blue Jays received some positive pitching news at a time when any bit of good news is welcomed. With September underway and Toronto still trying to stay within striking distance in the American League Wild-card race, both Jameson Taillon and Trey Yesavage appear to be moving in the right direction.

Taillon is the more likely of the two to get back into game action. In fact, the veteran right-hander is scheduled to throw a bullpen session in Cleveland, and if that goes well, he would line up to start Friday’s series opener against the Kansas City Royals. MLB.com also lists Taillon’s expected return as Sept. 4 after he landed on the injured list with right forearm tendinitis on Aug. 11.

That return would come after just one rehab start with Triple-A Buffalo, where Taillon threw 48 pitches over 3.1 innings against Rochester. He allowed four earned runs, three hits and two walks, but he was better than the box score suggests.

Taillon cruised through the first three innings, allowing only one baserunner his first time through the order before running into trouble in the fourth. He also filled the strike zone, throwing 34 of his 48 pitches for strikes, and mixed several different pitches while generating eight swinging strikes.

The Blue Jays do not need Taillon to come back and be a front of the rotation star. They just need him to stabilize a rotation that has been forced into throwing more bullpen games than should be necessary at this time of the year. With Dylan Cease, José Soriano, Max Scherzer and Shane Bieber forming the top of the group, when healthy, Toronto has still had to throw out "openers" more often than not, which taxes the bullpen.

After throwing fewer than 50 pitches in his rehab start, the Blue Jays may target something closer to 60 or 70 pitches if he starts in Kansas City. Even a shortened start, though, would help reduce the strain on a bullpen that has been asked to cover 123.0 innings since Aug. 1, the second most in MLB.

Meantime, manager John Schneider told reporters that Yesavage has been throwing on flat ground and is scheduled to throw his first bullpen on Friday. This comes roughly three weeks after the 23-year-old right-hander underwent knee surgery.

That is a significant step for a pitcher who went down in early August during a start against the Houston Astros. MLB.com had previously listed Yesavage as a potential late-season return candidate, and moving from surgery to potential mound work in roughly three weeks keeps that possibility alive.

Yesavage already showed last September that he could help late in the season, posting a 3.21 ERA with a 2.35 FIP and 16 strikeouts over 14 innings after making his major-league debut. If he can get back on the mound and rebuild quickly enough, he gives Toronto a much-needed internal boost.

Blue Jays could finally get their pitching lined up the way they had envisioned at the beginning of the season

It is quite remarkable that Toronto is still this close to a playoff spot considering the amoutn of pitching injuries they have dealt with this season. Bieber and Yesavage didn't even make the team out of camp, going on the IL in March. Then Cody Ponce threw all of three innings before his season was over and Max Scherzer went down multiple times.

If Taillon and Yesavage can get back to the big leagues before the end of the season, it would finally resemble, somewhat, the rotation plans the Blue Jays had envisioned putting together in the offseason. They spent all winter upgrading that part of the roster by adding Cease, and Ponce, while Bieber chose to take the option in his contract and they resigned Scherzer.

At this point, the Blue Jays a full five-man rotation would almost be too good to be true, but they'll take it if it means it will lead them to that third Wild-Card spot.

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