WASHINGTON – Regardless of what the front office does between now and the Aug. 3 trade deadline, Trey Yesavage’s importance to the Toronto Blue Jays’ big picture in both now and into the future is only going to grow.

Alongside ace Dylan Cease, the 23-year-old is positioned as a cornerstone for a rotation in flux, with Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber and Max Scherzer pending free agents who are candidates to be dealt. Should the Blue Jays indeed subtract, there will be a short-term need for Yesavage to simply cover innings while developing over the final two months of the season, no matter how it plays out, while next year, the club will need him to keep posting while also tapping further into the upside he flashed last October to contend again. 

So, the way he pitched into the seventh inning for just the fourth time this season, while allowing only one run in Wednesday’s 5-2 victory over the Washington Nationals, is particularly encouraging. In managing to both contain the most productive........

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