TORONTO — A year ago, Trey Yesavage might’ve been sitting by a Florida pond on an off day, fishing with fellow Toronto Blue Jays prospect Gage Stanifer. He could’ve been losing to Khal Stephen in Power Pros baseball on the Nintendo Wii. Maybe he was starting a Low-A game in front of a few hundred fans. He was, after all, far from the big leagues.

That’s how fast things changed in 2025 for Yesavage, who made his 2026 debut Tuesday after a month lost to a shoulder impingement. The 22-year-old, who threw 5 1/3 shutout innings against the Boston Red Sox, scaled four minor-league levels last year, made his big-league debut and became a World Series hero.

Now, Yesavage and the Jays face the same challenge: For a team and player that had so much go right last season, how do they follow it up?

“I don’t want to guarantee this dude is going to be a 10-year big leaguer and multi-time All-Star and things like that,” manager John Schneider said before the 3-0 victory. “But, I mean, I think he has the chance to be real good. Hopefully, this is just a good kick-start to his first full season.”

Yesavage’s first outing was as solid as season debuts come. He allowed just one extra-base hit on 74 pitches and struck out three. The whiff count was weirdly low, with just five swings-and-misses on the evening. But shutout innings are shutout innings.

“I know I broke a lot of bats tonight,” Yesavage said, “so that’s as good as a strikeout to me. And I was just out there feeling myself.”

Just as he did months ago, the young starter pounded his hand into his glove as his outing ended. He walked off the mound to an ovation — loud applause for a Tuesday in April, but not the same decibel levels he earned last fall when he had a 2.84 ERA across three World Series outings, with 17 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings.

“It felt the same,” Yesavage said. “First time back, my Opening Day. Emotions were through the roof.”

This season, the bounces haven’t fallen the Jays’ way often. They haven’t had too many nights like Tuesday, when October stars brought April wins. Yesavage, who reported a shoulder issue entering spring, was one of 12 players placed on the injured list in spring or the first month of the season. Those injuries sapped much of the depth from Toronto’s rotation and key bats from the lineup. The Blue Jays are, even after Tuesday’s win, 13-16.

In Yesavage’s case, his injury cost him a month. The righty didn’t appear in a single spring training game, and he spent most of April working his way through rehab starts.

“Feels good to have him back here,” Schneider said. “When you’re missing so many guys, it kind of gives you a little bit of a shot of energy when you have one of your really, really big-time performers from last year back.”

The Jays aren’t looking to replicate 2025, and neither is Yesavage. Both surely want this year to end a little differently. The Jays hope a slightly new mix, with Kazuma Okamoto, Dylan Cease and Tyler Rogers signed as free agents, will push them one win further. Yesavage, who made just three regular-season starts last year, will face new challenges.

Though Yesavage pitched over 140 innings across the majors, minors and postseason last year, a full season at the big-league level is different. He has dealt with some early adversity, missing his first five starts to injury. It’s the sort of bad bounce he basically never faced last year. Yesavage is no longer fighting for monthly promotions or learning a new clubhouse at every minor-league stop. The challenge, Schneider said, will be consistency.

The Jays likely won’t give Yesavage two-inning outings to keep him rested, as they did in the minors at points last year. They won’t schedule him weeks off around the All-Star break to keep his innings down in anticipation of an October call-up. Now, especially with the state of Toronto’s injured rotation, the Jays will call on Yesavage every fifth start. His job is to answer.

“You’re a major-league pitcher now for almost a full season,” Schneider said. “How are you going to navigate that?”

It will be much easier for the Blue Jays to build on their 2025 when more key pieces return. Tuesday, Yesavage became the first injured bird to come back. He and the Blue Jays hope their encore can now begin.

“I think the group we have here now is really good,” Yesavage said. “Then, when guys come back, we can be excellent. Time will tell, but it’s exciting to think about all the pieces that are going to be healthy.”