A Game 7 World Series defeat typically leaves a young player with two choices: either be haunted by the moment, or learn to temporarily disappear to rediscover himself. Trey Yesavage chose the second—and his response after the season perhaps speaks volumes more than any professional analysis.
“I spent a lot of time in the woods hunting,” Yesavage said, almost nonchalantly. No gym. No video conference. No attempts at “healing” by rewatching the shots that slipped from his hands in that decisive moment. Just the woods, the quiet, and the necessary distance between him and a season that ended in the most brutal way.
That’s not a typical reaction from a 22-year-old freshman entering MLB, much less from someone just one game away from a championship dream. But perhaps it’s precisely this unconventional approach that best reflects Yesavage—and how he prepared for the biggest leap of his career.
Just over a year after being drafted, Yesavage made his MLB debut, and was almost immediately swept up in the playoff whirlwind. 14 innings in the regular season. 27.2 innings in the postseason. Six playoff games, five of which were starts. The pressure that many pitchers take their entire careers to reach, Yesavage experienced in just a few weeks.
And then, the World Series ended. No fairytale ending.
Instead of avoiding defeat, Yesavage acknowledged the heartbreak in the clubhouse. But what’s remarkable is how he talked about it: no bitterness, no blame, no self-praise. “We’ll get better from this,” he said. Not me. It’s us.
That maturity is even more striking when placed in the context of his age and experience. Yesavage was still a rookie on paper. Only two weeks of service time. A full season was still something he had never experienced. And that very fact became the biggest motivation for 2026.
“I’ve never known what a full season looks like,” Yesavage shared. Not a complaint, but curiosity. He spoke of the biggest workload of his career, the shortest offseason ever, and having to learn how to rest at the right time — a skill many young players often overlook.
The numbers show potential, but also remind us of the challenges ahead. FanGraphs predicts Yesavage will throw around 130 innings, both starting and relieving. Strikeout percentage may decrease. Walk rate is expected to improve. BABIP is likely to “come back down to earth.” No miracles, only adjustments.
And perhaps, the most important preparation is this quiet “reset.” Not to forget Game 7, but to prevent it from dominating all subsequent decisions.
Yesavage isn’t trying to turn defeat into a motivational rally. He simply puts it down, steps out of the spotlight, and comes back when he’s ready. For a young pitcher about to embark on a truly long and grueling first season, that might be the most reliable sign that he understands where he is — and how far he still has to go.
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