Returning Yesavage says Blue Jays record can shift with the snap of a finger

Open this photo in gallery:George Springer (centre) of the Toronto Blue Jays wears a fan giveaway Ernie Clement hockey jersey ahead of the Jays' game against the Boston Red Sox on Monday at Rogers Centre.Mark Blinch/Getty ImagesShareSave for laterPlease log in to bookmark this story.Log InCreate Free AccountWrapped in a checkered Blue Jays blanket that covered his José Berríos replica jersey to stay warm, Adam Schmitt headed a long line outside Gate 1 at the Rogers Centre on Monday afternoon. Sitting down on a stool next to him was his girlfriend, Colleen Moffatt. Behind them, the line twisted around corners, hot dog stands and stretched to Front Street West in downtown Toronto. It wasn’t even 3:00 p.m., and the line hadn’t finished forming. The couple – like thousands of others – was waiting for an Ernie Clement replica hockey jersey giveaway that night. Only the first 15,000 fans in the building would get a sweater. Schmitt said the couple got in line at 10:30 that morning. “We like collecting the jerseys specifically, and we have gotten both of the hockey jerseys before,” Schmitt said. “We thought it’d be cool to get the third.” See how Blue Jays mascot Ace tends to the flock on game dayWearing a George Springer replica hockey jersey from a 2024 Blue Jays giveaway to keep herself warm, Moffatt said she packed a card game and a book in case they got bored during their six-hour-plus wait. “Hopefully I’ll finish [the book] if I start reading it today,” Moffatt said. “I have lots of time, right?” Despite the cool air making Schmitt a bit cold outside the stadium, he’s feeling warm about Toronto’s season after its slow start. “I think they’re heading in the right direction, and it’s still early to catch up,” Schmitt said. “So, I feel good about it.” Open this photo in gallery:Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage, seen here at spring training in February, will make his 2026 regular season debut on Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox.Frank Gunn/The Canadian PressTwenty-eight games into the 2026 campaign – after Monday’s 5-0 loss to the visiting Boston Red Sox – the Blue Jays’ 12-16 record places them fourth in the American League East as of April 28. On April 28, 2025, Toronto had a near identical record of 13-15, also good for fourth in the division. Inside the Blue Jays locker room, where replica Clement hockey jerseys either draped the chairs by each player’s stall – or the men themselves – Myles Straw, 31, said that late April statistic is “all you really got to see.” “We’re fine,” the Garden Grove, Calif., product said. “We’re in a great division, play a lot of good baseball, [we] just got to stay positive and keep rolling.” A slew of injuries through the season’s first month has hindered the Blue Jays. But a few big names are set to make their return in the coming days and weeks. “We got a lot of guys out,” Straw said. “All of them are gonna help. Just to get the guys back will be a big boost for us.” One of those guys set to return Tuesday is Trey Yesavage. His 2026 season debut comes later than the Pottstown, Penn., product anticipated. Toronto placed Yesavage, 22, on the injured list on March 25 – retroactive to March 22 – for a right shoulder impingement. During Toronto’s run to the 2025 World Series, the right-handed pitcher had a 3-1 record with a 3.58 earned run average over six games – three of those contests came in the final versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. “We know that we’re a really good ball club. Whatever our record…

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