The Toronto Blue Jays plan on running back most of their roster that was within two outs of a World Series title in 2025, but with a few notable changes. Dylan Cease is now expected to lead one of the best rotations in the American League. Kazuma Okamoto replaces Bo Bichette in the infield. Tyler Rogers gives the Jays another high-leverage bullpen arm for John Schneider to turn to. The newly acquired Jesus Sanchez replaces the injured Anthony Santander in left field.
While most of the Jays' roster is in place, there are still a couple of Opening Day roster spots up for grabs. With that in mind, there's a real chance that some of the Jays players currently with the team in Dunedin for spring training won't go north with the big league club for the season opener.
Blue Jays Rule 5 selections are unlikely to crack the roster
RHP Angel Bastardo
The Blue Jays used a Rule 5 pick on Angel Bastardo, formerly of the Boston Red Sox, in the 2024 offseason. They selected Bastardo, knowing he was going to miss most, if not the entire season recovering from Tommy John Surgery. He did not appear in a game for Toronto, so he remains in the organization, but under the same restrictions any ordinary Rule 5 player would ordinarily have, but with a twist.
Instead of needing to be on their active roster all season, Bastardo must be on the roster for 90 days before the Jays have the ability to option him to the minor leagues. While that increased flexibility is nice, are the Jays really going to keep a guy who has not thrown a single big league pitch on their active roster for three months and struggled at the Double-A level when last seen?
Rebuilding teams might be willing to take the risk on a high-upside arm like Bastardo, but it's extremely unlikely that the right-hander will earn his way onto their active roster, even with his Rule-5 status.
RHP Spencer Miles
Spencer Miles was selected by the Jays in this offseason's Rule 5 draft, and he is fully healthy. This means that for the Jays to hold onto him, they'd have to keep him on their active roster or on the Injured List all season long. As is the case with Bastardo, I just don't see that happening.
It's easy to like the potential with Miles, a fourth-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft who pitched well in the Arizona Fall League during the offseason and throws hard, but he's thrown a total of 4.1 innings above Rookie Ball, and those innings came in 2022.
The stakes are too high and the Jays have too much talent for Miles to realistically make the team. This was a worthy dart throw for the Jays to take, and who knows, maybe he'll dominate in spring training or the Jays will pick up some injuries. Barring these things taking place, though, he's a long shot to make the team.
Other Blue Jays facing uphill battles
OF Nathan Lukes
It's pretty jarring to have Nathan Lukes, a player who primarily hit second for the Jays last postseason, on a list of players unlikely to make the team, but allow me to explain. Daulton Varsho and Addison Barger are set to occupy two of their three outfield spots, and there's a good chance left field will be made up of a Jesus Sanchez and Davis Schneider platoon. The DH for Toronto is George Springer.
With that being said, what would Lukes' role be? As constructed, he's the fourth-best left-handed-hitting outfielder on the Jays' roster. If he wouldn't start ahead of anyone against righties or lefties, why bother rostering him? It's not as if Lukes offers tremendous speed off the bench, and the Jays already have other outstanding outfield defenders.
This has nothing to do with Lukes, a quality player, but has everything to do with the Jays' roster construction. A middle infielder like Leo Jimenez might make more sense to roster than having Lukes be the seventh outfielder on the team. Whether the Jays would trade Lukes for a player at another position of need or send him down to Triple-A remains to be seen, but assuming everyone stays healthy, it makes little sense for him to be on their active roster.
LHP Mason Fluharty
Mason Fluharty appeared in 55 games for the Jays during the regular season and 11 more in the postseason. He had his share of hiccups in his rookie year, but for the most part, he was very serviceable for the Jays. He held left-handed hitters to a .182 average in the regular season and held his own against righties as well, making him valuable. He still faces long odds to make the team for one main reason. He can still be optioned to the minors without being subjected to waivers.
The same cannot be said about the rest of Toronto's projected Opening Day bullpen.
Blue Jays Reliever Name | Minor League Options |
|---|---|
Jeff Hoffman | N/A |
Yimi Garcia | N/A |
Tyler Rogers | N/A |
Louis Varland | 1 |
Brendon Little | 1 |
Braydon Fisher | 3 |
Tommy Nance | 0 |
Eric Lauer | N/A |
Only three relievers on this list can be optioned. Louis Varland is one of the Jays' best relievers, so he isn't going anywhere. Brendon Little struggled down the stretch last season, but he was still the Jays' best left-handed reliever for most of the year, so it's tough to envision Fluharty making the team over him. As for Braydon Fisher, he had a strong rookie year and provides additional value as a multi-inning reliever.
The reliever whose roster spot is probably in the most jeopardy is Tommy Nance. The Jays could choose Fluharty over him, especially if they'd like a third left-handed option in their 'pen, but keeping Nance would give them more flexibility. Fluharty will still pitch in a ton of games for the Blue Jays this season, but his odds of making the Opening Day roster are probably slim thanks to his option.
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