The first reason for optimism is that Yesavage throws quality pitches. His fastball sat at 94.7 mph during the regular season, and his devastating splitter came as advertised. His slider is another funky weapon, and he's apparently been tinkering with a curveball as well this offseason. His success wasn't a case of getting lucky with an underwhelming repertoire; Yesavage has the tools needed to get major league hitters out.
"I'm not going to reveal the pitch," Ryan told Dodgers Nation's Doug McKain. "I want to kind of surprise people next year. The way I figured out how to throw it, I was just kind of in the middle of an outing and uh, I was looking at some film and some Trackman on what my pitch shapes were and I was... I was kind of surprised on one of them and I was like, I didn't know I could make the ball do that. "So unfortunately after I kind of figured it out, I got hurt and then I had to stop throwing. So I had to pick it back up when I was able to start spinning the ball again in rehab. Um, and I kind of just figured out what I did to make the ball do that and um, yeah, we just kind of honed it in from there. It's still... it's still in the works. I mean, it's... I don't think it's going to be a highly used pitch, but it's definitely another strikeout option if needed. So."
"I missed starting probably the first half of my career, but once I really started closing, I didn't think about it as much," Helsley said. "Learning a new pitch would be something I could pick up, obviously, but it'd be a learning curve throughout this first year to figure out how to be a major league starting pitcher." Helsley said he "(knows what he's) capable of as a reliever," even as he expressed confidence that he could be a starter.
The Chicago Cubs declined to pick up a three-year option on Imanaga's contract, which triggered Imanaga's player option (which he also declined), officially making him a free agent. He went 9-8 with a 3.73 ERA across 25 starts in Chicago this past season. While the Blue Jays did use Eric Lauer and Easton Lucas as left-handed starters in 2025, the team spent most of the year without a consistent left-handed presence in the rotation.
Glasnow's last start was Game 3 of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. He pitched 5 and 2/3 innings, giving up only one run on three hits, and striking out eight hitters. The California product has rested since his start on October 16th and is coming out fresh to get his start at Dodger Stadium. The Blue Jays have gotten their fair look at Glasnow over the years, as he was a part of the American League East under the Tampa Bay Rays banner before being dealt to the West Coast.
On Tuesday night, Sandy Alcantara reminded everyone why he's still the face of Miami's pitching staff. The right-hander tossed six dominant innings against the Pirates, allowing just three hits, one walk, and striking out six in a 3-2 win to even the series. He needed only 85 pitches to do it-his most efficient outing of the year by far. That's more like the Sandy Alcántara we know and love!