Trey Yesavage is set to pitch Wednesday with Triple-A Buffalo, John Schneider said.

If that outing goes well, the next step could be a return to the majors the following Monday.

That's the clearest timeline yet attached to his recovery from knee surgery.

Yesavage has moved through this rehab process steadily, from bullpen sessions to a simulated game touching 93 mph, and now toward this rehab start itself.

Every checkpoint along the way has gone according to plan, which is exactly why Toronto now has a real target date on the calendar.

He left Toronto's Aug. 4 loss to the Astros after his knee buckled warming up for the third inning, later diagnosed with a meniscus injury requiring surgery.

That's been roughly six weeks of recovery, a genuinely fast turnaround for this kind of procedure.

Why Monday's target matters so much right now

Toronto's rotation has been running on fumes for weeks, absorbing injuries to Jose Berrios, Bowden Francis, Patrick Corbin, Jameson Taillon, and Shane Bieber at various points this season.

Getting Yesavage back would give the Blue Jays a real, controllable arm right as the wild-card race hits its most critical stretch.

Wednesday's outing in Buffalo is still the real test. Rehab starts don't always go according to plan, and Toronto will need to see clean results before locking in that Monday date for good.

But a specific day on the calendar, rather than a vague "getting close" update, signals real confidence from the coaching staff in how this recovery has gone.

Toronto sits right in the thick of the wild-card chase with limited games left, making every returning arm carry real weight down the stretch.

Whether Monday holds as planned, or Wednesday's start reveals something that pushes the timeline back, should become clear almost immediately once that Buffalo outing wraps up.