TORONTO — Blue Jays rookie Trey Yesavage will start Game 1 of the World Series on Friday against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers and Blake Snell, but a decision on activating shortstop Bo Bichette still officially has yet to be made.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Bichette, a two-time All-Star, has recovered from a sprained left knee that sidelined him for 1 1/2 months and may be activated for the World Series.
“We’re kind of coming right down to the wire with it,” Schneider said Thursday. “He’s feeling good, which is nice. Still a few more boxes to check.”
Yesavage, who made his major league debut on Sept. 15, will be making his fourth postseason start, giving the 22-year-old more postseason starts than career regular-season outings (3).
Schneider said Thursday he wasn’t ready to announce his Game 2 starter from among Kevin Gausman, Max Scherzer and Shane Bieber.
The Dodgers announced earlier this week that Snell would start Game 1 and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will follow in Game 2.
Selected 20th overall in last year’s amateur draft from East Carolina University, Yesavage began the season at Class A Dunedin, was promoted to High-A Vancouver on May 20, Double-A New Hampshire on June 12 and Triple-A Buffalo on Aug. 12.
He was 1-0 with a 3.21 ERA in three starts in September, striking out 16 in 14 innings, helped by a devastating splitter, with seven walks.
Yesavage beat the New York Yankees with 5 1/3 scoreless, hitless innings in Game 2 of the Division Series as he struck out 11, lost Game 2 of the AL Championship Series when he allowed five runs in four innings, then won Game 6 of the ALCS on Sunday when he gave up two runs in 5 2/3 innings.
He will be the first rookie to start Game 1 of the World Series since 2006, when Cardinals rookie Anthony Reyes started opposite Tigers rookie Justin Verlander.
Gausman threw 19 pitches in relief in Game 7 of the ALCS on Monday against Seattle, three days after he tossed 91 pitches in his Game 5 start.
“It made sense to hold Kevin for a day,” Schneider said, not committing to Gausman for Game 2 on Saturday or Game 3 on Monday at Dodger Stadium.
Bichette, a two-time AL hits leader, hasn’t played since he sprained his left knee in a Sept. 6 collision with Yankees catcher Austin Wells. He said Tuesday that he’d be ready for the World Series.
Schneider said Bichette, 27, could be at shortstop, designated hitter or even second base, where he last played in 2019 in the minor leagues.
“Continuing to make progress,” Schneider said. “He’s taking ground balls, running.”
Bichette was second in the major leagues to the Yankees’ Aaron Judge with a .311 batting average, hitting 18 homers with 94 RBIs in 139 games.
The Associated Press and ESPN Research contributed to this report.
