Stress-testing the Blue Jays' depth at each position

DUNEDIN, Fla. — This early in spring, once the off-season transactions have slowed down and before anyone has been cut, the sheer volume of players in big-league camp is striking.

About 70 players arrive at the major-league side of the Toronto Blue Jays’ player development complex each morning, and that’s before you consider their support network of coaches, trainers and nutritionists. It’s the only time of year that the entire organization is in one place, even if they’re still just getting to know each other. 

Has Lazaro Estrada introduced himself to Bo Bichette yet? How well do Joey Loperfido and Max Scherzer know one another? Whether they’re friends yet, whether they even know everyone’s name, it doesn’t matter. The point is they’re working toward a collective goal.

There’s sure to be tinkering with the roster as opening day approaches, but this is more or less it. For the Blue Jays to be in contention at the trade deadline, it’s this group — from Eric Lauer to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — that must get them there. And early in the Grapefruit League schedule, manager John Schneider likes what he sees.

“Even in the fifth, sixth, seventh eighth or ninth innings, the guys that are coming in are pretty damn good,” he said. “That’s a nice thing to have, as opposed to years in the past.”

With that in mind, let’s take stock of this roster position by position, assessing where the Blue Jays are deepest, and where the biggest organizational question marks exist:

Catcher

Lock: Alejandro Kirk

Depth: Tyler Heineman, Christian Bethancourt, Ali Sanchez

Positional strength: Good. Kirk impacts the game on both sides of the ball.

Positional vulnerability: Very high. An injury to Kirk would be devastating.

First Base

Lock: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Depth: Will Wagner, Anthony Santander, Joey Loperfido

Positional strength: Excellent. Guerrero Jr. is one of the game’s elite hitters in his prime.

Positional vulnerability: Moderate. There’s no clear option behind Guerrero Jr., but Wagner has been getting first-base reps this spring, and Santander and Loperfido have played the position in the majors before. If they had to, they could cobble things together.

“This is going to sound funny: we’re trying to get him into some uncomfortable spots,” Schneider said of Wagner’s work at first this spring. “The technical part, the fielding the ground ball and throwing, he’s going to be fine, so trying to get him into those situations you can’t really practice.”

Second Base

Lock: Andres Gimenez

Depth: Leo Jimenez, Will Wagner, Ernie Clement, Orelvis Martinez, Davis Schneider, Michael Stefanic

Positional strength: Good. Gimenez offers game-changing defence.

Positional vulnerability: Very low. The Blue Jays have lots of fill-in options available if needed, so this isn’t a position they need to stress about.

Third Base

Lock: Ernie Clement

Depth: Addison Barger, Orelvis Martinez, Leo Jimenez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Will Wagner, Michael Stefanic

Positional strength: Solid. Clement played excellent defence last year, and his elite bat-to-ball skills make up for a plate approach that can veer overly aggressive.  

Positional vulnerability: Moderate to high. The Blue Jays have big-league-ready options behind Clement, but there are questions about Barger (contact quality), Martinez (readiness) and Wagner (defence). Using Guerrero Jr. here made more sense when first baseman Spencer Horwitz was also on the roster, so he’s probably more of an emergency option for now.

Shortstop

Lock: Bo Bichette

Depth: Ernie Clement, Andres Gimenez, Leo Jimenez, Josh Kasevich

Positional strength: Excellent. What team wouldn’t want a healthy Bichette for his age-27 season?

Positional vulnerability: Low. Behind Bichette, the Blue Jays have two legitimately capable big-leaguers in Clement and Gimenez.

Outfield

Locks: George Springer, Daulton Varsho, Anthony Santander

Depth: Nathan Lukes, Joey Loperfido, Jonatan Clase, Addison Barger, Davis Schneider, Steward Berroa, Alan Roden, Myles Straw

Positional strength: Very good.

Positional vulnerability: Moderate. Summer trades for Loperfido and Clase added upside to the Blue Jays’ outfield ranks, though neither is a sure thing. Roden’s not on the 40-man roster yet, but he’s intriguing. Overall, there’s some depth here — and ideally someone would step forward from this group.

Designated Hitter

Lock: Will Wagner

Depth: Various

Positional strength: Low. Like many teams, the Blue Jays are choosing to rotate players such as Wagner through the DH spot while using it to give others a partial day off. In 25 big-league games last year, Wagner hit .305 with a 125 wRC+, production that has the 26-year-old positioned to get regular at-bats to start 2025.

Positional vulnerability: Low. Because anyone can DH, no team is especially vulnerable here, the Blue Jays included.

Starting Pitcher

Locks: Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer, Bowden Francis

Depth: Yariel Rodriguez, Ryan Yarbrough, Jake Bloss, Eric Lauer, Easton Lucas, Lazaro Estrada

Now injured: Alek Manoah, Adam Macko, Adam Kloffenstein

Positional strength: Moderate. Scherzer was a great addition, but he’s 40 coming off a season in which be battled various injuries. Meanwhile, Gausman's strikeout rate dropped and Francis benefitted from an exceptionally low batting average on balls in play, so there’s some downside risk here counterbalancing impressive savvy and experience.

Positional vulnerability: High. While Rodriguez and Yarbrough have experience starting in the majors, the Blue Jays are thin here since most teams need 10 starters in the course of the season.

By August, Alek Manoah will be back, and the Blue Jays could trade for further help, but the challenge is getting through the first four months of the season at a time that the organization hasn’t drafted and developed enough young pitching. 

One candidate to provide the kind of depth they seek: Lazaro Estrada, a 25-year-old Cuban right-hander who pitched well in the Arizona Fall League late last year, thanks to a 95 m.p.h. fastball.

“An up-and-comer who’s a little bit younger, but he’s building off a good fall and winter,” Schneider said. “I think he’s kind of the next guy in line.”

Bullpen

Locks: Jeff Hoffman, Yimi Garcia, Chad Green, Erik Swanson, Nick Sandlin, Yariel Rodriguez

Depth: Brendon Little, Tommy Nance, Ryan Burr, Zach Pop, Josh Walker, Mason Fluharty, Jacob Barnes, Easton Lucas

Positional strength: Solid. Having added Hoffman, Garcia and Sandlin to the bullpen, the Blue Jays are in a far better spot than they were a year ago, when they had one of the worst relief corps in the sport.

Positional vulnerability: Moderate to high. A breakout from someone such as Fluharty, Barnes or Lucas would help considering the total volume arms required to get through 162 games. Not counting position players, 31 pitchers took the mound for the Blue Jays a year ago, so although the first six or eight names look good, they’ll need many more. The quality of their minor-league signings and upper-minors player development matters a ton here, as ever.