Breaking down Blue Jays' roster decisions as spring training concludes

DUNEDIN, Fla. – Before we delve into a breakdown of the Toronto Blue Jays’ spring training, some words of wisdom from Max Scherzer, after he was asked to assess his first camp with the club.

“You're going to hate my answer on this,” he began. “I've been on enough teams, I've seen how everything comes together. There are good guys in this clubhouse, but you really don't know what you've got and how the team is going to gel and how it's going to come together until the middle of the season. Everybody feels like they've had a great camp across the league. Everybody's going to say that. That's kind of where talk is cheap.

“How you handle losing streaks, how you handle different environments, that's when you find out how good of a team you are, when you face adversity,” he added. “That's when you know what type of team you have.”

Straight truth from the future Hall of Famer, all worth remembering now that the Blue Jays are headed north, their opening day roster set, the baseball about to get real.

Several feel-good stories emerged over the past six weeks, with Bo Bichette’s return to form at the plate and outfield prospect Alan Roden’s emergence to earn a spot on the club prime among them, while Alejandro Kirk’s $58-million, five-year extension, which the club says is still pending a physical, locked into place one piece of a core timing out over the next two winters.

Concerns that surfaced in the Florida sun were led by Scherzer’s irksome right thumb issue, although manager John Schneider said the 40-year-old “came in feeling good” Sunday morning after a strong outing Saturday, “so we'll see where the rest of today goes and where we line him up in the rotation.”

And, of course, the low point of camp came with the failure to lock up Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ahead of the Feb. 18 deadline for an extension set by the four-time all-star first baseman. The long-term uncertainty around him and fellow pending free agent Bichette will hover over the club all spring long.

Another concern is the bullpen attrition which led to Erik Swanson, Zach Pop and Ryan Burr opening the season on the injured list.

All in all?

“Satisfied,” said manager John Schneider. “I think guys are prepared. We won some games. What we set out to do, we did and got everybody ready. Within that, little things that we're trying to establish from a culture standpoint, team standpoint we feel good about, as well. And it's time to get going.”

With that, a deeper look at the camp that was:

Opening Day Roster

Here’s how the Blue Jays are breaking:

C: Alejandro Kirk; Tyler Heineman

INF: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.; Andres Gimenez; Bo Bichette; Ernie Clement; Will Wagner

OF: Anthony Santander; Myles Straw; Nathan Lukes; George Springer; Alan Roden; Davis Schneider

SP: Jose Berrios; Kevin Gausman; Max Scherzer; Chris Bassitt; Bowden Francis

RP: Jeff Hoffman; Yimi Garcia; Chad Green; Nick Sandlin; Brendon Little; Yariel Rodriguez; Jacob Barnes; Richard Lovelady

John Schneider began breaking the news to players Saturday night, telling Nathan Lukes he’d made the team by phone as the outfielder and his wife were taking their daughter to a Disney On Ice show.

“When the manager calls you, it's usually good news. Bad news is in person,” laughed Lukes, who’d been anxious the past week as he awaited the decision. “So once I saw the phone call, it was a good feeling.”

Roden was among the players informed Sunday morning, called into a meeting that included first base and outfield coach Mark Budzinski and player development assistant Devon White. Schneider said the 25-year-old’s reaction “was the most emotion I'd seen out of him…with a big fist pump.”

“I was just excited,” Roden grinned. “I said, ‘Let’s bleeping go,’ just pumped.”

The position-player moves left Addison Barger and Steward Berroa on the outside looking in, while the final pitching decisions were more complicated.

Lefty swingman Ryan Yarbrough, who seemed certain to make the team when he signed a minor-league deal in February, was informed he didn’t make the team in the morning and, after exercising his opt-out Friday, became a free agent at 2 p.m. ET.

That left two spots open for three relievers, with Barnes and Lovelady winning out over Tommy Nance, who is out of options.

Roden, Straw and Barnes need spots on the 40-man roster, so there’s some roster juggling ahead.

RIDING WITH RODEN

Alan Roden arrived at spring training very much on the Blue Jays’ radar, but not as someone expected to compete for a roster spot and he simply forced the club’s hand with his strong play. His numbers over 20 games were a gaudy .407/.541/.704 but, given how erratic spring stats can be, it was the quality of at-bat leading to those results that tipped the scales.

The 25-year-old, a third-round pick in 2022, tried to maintain an even keel throughout, but “the longer you stuck around camp, the more real the opportunity became, the more real the whole situation became,” he said. “And as the days went by, it was like, Wow, there's a shot. I'm just really happy with how it played out.”

Schneider stressed that Roden is breaking with the team to play and he’ll see action in all three outfield spots and some potential DH at-bats. Four to five starts a week isn’t out of the realm, at least until Daulton Varsho is ready to come off the injured list, and “I think that there is a really good chance he's an impact player for us,” said the manager.

“I think there's also a really good chance that he won't be (up and down emotionally) in that time, he's going to be (steady),” Schneider continued. “It was tough too, with Barger. It came down to, with Will, with Ernie at third base, it turned Addie into more of an outfielder and then what would the playing time look like? We want (Barger) to be playing consistently with the strides that he's made. And from that, how do you then couple the other pieces together? Not only did Alan do everything he needed to do performance-wise to make the team, I think it works out a little bit smoother that way, in terms of how playing time will be rolled out.”

Roden’s ascension is also an accomplishment for a Blue Jays development system coming off a rough 2024 that was plagued by injury, particularly on the pitching side, which led to some significant turnover.

“It was cool to deliver the message because of what he's done in this organization,” said Schneider. “He's the epitome of what we try to instill in our minor-league players, attacking things the right way, working the right way and then ultimately performing.”

BASHING BO

Bo Bichette talked about feeling like himself and playing with freedom again at the beginning of camp and it sure showed during a camp in which he went 19-for-51 with four homers, three doubles, looking every bit the dominant offensive player he can be.

What has he seen that he really liked this spring?

“For myself and for the team, the focus, the competitiveness in every game, every at-bat,” he replied. “There’s going to be another level when we get to the season in terms of playing to win, but I think we’ve gone out there to play to win and we need to do that to prepare ourselves for the season.”

For what it’s worth, at 18-10, the Blue Jays finished with the best record in the Grapefruit League.

KUDOS FOR KIRK

The Blue Jays didn’t want to discuss Alejandro Kirk’s extension until it’s fully completed, but congrats for the 26-year-old came from all corners Sunday. He’s the first player the team has guaranteed money to through 2030.

“He's ready for every single game, he knows what the hitter is trying to do, really good hitter and then not just that, he's able to catch all types of pitchers,” praised Chris Bassitt. “Some pitchers struggle with a certain type of catcher, but he has the ability to be really good with anybody. He's really good with the low strike, really good in and out.”

SCHERZER SEASON

Enthusiasm over Max Scherzer’s solid start Saturday was tempered by uncertainty over how his thumb would feel Sunday, but no worries, apparently.

“He’s on track and ready to go,” John Schneider said.

That puts him in line to start the third game of the regular season, Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles, behind Jose Berrios and Kevin Gausman and in front of Chris Bassitt and Bowden Francis.

Scherzer’s status contributed to the decision to part with Ryan Yarbrough, as Yariel Rodriguez can jump back into the bullpen in a swing/length role. Still, the decision on the lefty was surprising given how he was told when he arrived not to put extra emphasis on his outings and focus instead on being ready for the season, with the Blue Jays envisioning a similar role to the one he played last season.

Not so much, as it turns out.

BULLPEN ATTRITION

The injuries to Erik Swanson (elbow), Zach Pop (elbow) and Ryan Burr (shoulder) immediately changed the makeup of the Blue Jays bullpen and the timeline for them will eventually impact the staff’s current composition.

Swanson, expected to be part of the late-game leverage group, has played catch three times, with a couple of off-days mixed in, as he begins building up after receiving a cortisone shot. He’s likely to be the first of the group ready, followed by Pop, who is still in a shut-down period, and Burr.

Another option, Dillon Tate, is expected to join the Blue Jays bullpen much sooner, as he’ll continue his buildup with triple-A Buffalo after signing in mid-March. Once he’s in game shape, he should be up quickly.

VOID WITH VLAD

Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro created a stir when he expressed optimism and boldly proclaimed that “I think we're going to sign him, I think we're going to extend him,” during his hour-long discussion with media Thursday.

It's certainly possible, as the Guerrero camp has given the club a number that buys him out of free agency and gets a deal done — $500 million in present value — but until one side budges from its last-and-best positions before the Feb. 18 deadline, nothing has really changed.

Now, it would be unlike Shapiro to raise expectations he doesn’t intend to or can’t meet, so maybe the sides engage once more before Thursday’s opening day. Or maybe Shapiro’s suggestion that free agency will help them bridge their current divide, believed to be roughly $50 million, is a line in the sand and a dare for Guerrero to forego a generational-wealth guarantee and test the open market.

Either way, not getting something done during camp kicked the problem down the road, one sure to follow the Blue Jays until, for better or worse, it’s resolved.