LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 29: Trey Yesavage #39 of the Toronto Blue Jays looks on after game five of the 2025 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on October 29, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
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The Toronto Blue Jays are looking for a repeat next season with a better outcome as they seek to return to the World Series, but next time they will be looking to outlast the National League competition.
The team’s loss in extra innings during Game 7 at home was a heartbreaking result for fans. But there are plenty of positive takeaways from this past season that could help the Blue Jays win it all in the near future.
And chief among those is the emergence of standout rookie Trey Yesavage.
Yesavage’s stunning season took him from the minor leagues all the way to some critical starts in the Fall Classic. The pitcher was remarkably calm and collected in some high-profile moments and he posted a strong 2.84 ERA with 17 strikeouts across three World Series games against the fearsome Los Angeles Dodgers batting order.
“On the biggest stage, the kid etched himself into baseball lore, dominating MVPs and future Hall of Famers,” Mitch Bannon wrote for The Athletic. “Standing in a hostile environment, he unleashed his controlled fire.”
That performance might suggest Yesavage is a lock for a starting rotation spot with the Blue Jays next year, particularly with Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt heading to free agency, but the team doesn’t necessarily see it that way.
During his end-of-year press conference, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins wouldn’t commit to slotting Yesavage into the big-league rotation and issued a warning about what might derail his chances.
“I think he’s in a pretty good position, load-wise,” Atkins said, according to Mike Wilner of the Toronto Star. “We’ll talk through that with him and see if there’s something to manage on the workload standpoint but it’s more about not resting (on his post-season achievements) and making sure that we’re getting better.”
The executive’s warning that Yesavage will have to guard against any complacency after emerging as a World Series hero was notable given how well the rookie handled some high pressure moments. But it’s also fair for the team to hope he can be even better in his sophomore campaign, and attacking the offseason with the right mindset could be key to that improvement.