Yesavage exits with left knee discomfort, will get MRI Wednesday

HOUSTON -- Trey Yesavage left Tuesday’s game in Houston with left knee discomfort, another blow to a Blue Jays team in need of some better breaks.

He is scheduled to undergo an MRI Wednesday, and the Blue Jays will reevaluate then.

Yesavage was throwing warmup pitches prior to the bottom of the third inning when suddenly, manager John Schneider and the Blue Jays’ trainer came jogging out of the dugout.

Schneider watched on as Yesavage threw one more warmup pitch, but Yesavage quickly shook his head and walked off the mound toward the dugout. Yesavage’s left knee, which is his landing leg, appeared to buckle underneath him when he was throwing his early warmup pitches. Chad Dallas entered the game in Yesavage’s place to begin the bottom of the third inning.

Following the 7-2 loss to the Astros, Schneider shared that Yesavage had felt a “pinch” in his left knee, and while Yesavage didn’t seem overly concerned, they weren’t about to take any chances with their young star.

“It was weird. It was kind of a pinching sensation where he couldn’t really stabilize perfectly,” Schneider said. “There was nothing beforehand. It kind of caught us off guard.”

Yesavage hadn’t allowed a hit over the first two frames and owns a 3.65 ERA over 93 2/3 innings, a young cornerstone in this rotation which has undergone significant changes in recent days. Just hours before Yesavage’s injury, Schneider shared the Blue Jays’ plans to move to a six-man rotation following the additions of Jameson Taillon from the Cubs and José Soriano from the Angels after Kevin Gausman was dealt.

Depth is not an immediate issue, especially with Spencer Arrighetti -- another Trade Deadline acquisition from Houston -- nearing his own return from a foot injury and scheduled to make a Triple-A rehab start Thursday. Anything involving Yesavage is cause for concern, though, and even if the Blue Jays’ postseason odds are very small, they haven’t reached zero yet, and this team remains intent on competing down the stretch.

The Blue Jays expect to have further updates on Yesavage either Wednesday in Houston or Thursday by the time they reach Chicago for a single makeup game.