Blue Jays bat-thirsty bench makes next roster move interesting

In designating infielder Jimmy Paredes for assignment on Monday, the Toronto Blue Jays have temporarily moved to an eight-man bullpen and three-man bench.

This move was made in large part to aid a taxed relief corps with the promotion of Ryan Tepera. Paredes was at the bottom of the list because, with Troy Tulowitzki out for the next two weeks, the Blue Jays need Ryan Goins on the roster with his ability to act as the reserve shortstop.

“The thinking was you need another guy who can play shortstop,” manager John Gibbons told Gregor Chisholm prior to last night’s game. “He wasn’t playing a lot, maybe he gets through, maybe he doesn’t”

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In the expected short-term roster alignment with Barney and Devon Travis in the middle infield, the Jays are then left with Goins, Ezequiel Carrera, and Josh Thole on the bench. Of the group, Carrera’s surprise start to 2016 has made him the only near-legitimate offensive threat from those reserves.

So Toronto finds themselves where they were two weeks ago: in search of a bench bat. Which is fine.

The initial variable here is Paredes himself, and whether the Blue Jays can sneak him through to the triple-A Buffalo Bisons. Beyond Paredes (and his limited defensive profile, which is typical of a “bench bat”), the Blue Jays will have options when they choose to return to a seven-man bullpen group.

Offseason waiver claim Jesus Montero represents power upside from the triple-A level and has rounded back into form recently. The first-baseman and designated hitter was batting .349 with two home runs and six RBIs entering play Monday night. The story is similar with first-baseman Casey Kotchman, who’s hitting .320 with three long balls over his past 10.

Then there’s the outfield, where Junior Lake has two home runs and seven RBIs with a .312 average over his last 10, but still holds a very weak season-long average of .208. Domonic Brown is struggling, himself, and Darrell Ceciliani is hitting just .219 over 20 games.

Andy Burns remains a possibility, of course, so does Matt Dominguez, while even A.J. Jimenez cannot be ruled out. This isn’t to say carrying three catchers is in any way desirable, but it’s been done before, and Jimenez is enjoying a very strong offensive surge.

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The primary issue with several of these names, though, excluding Burns, Dominguez, and Ceciliani, is that the Blue Jays then enter the churn of awarding 40-man roster spots only to soon risk designating another player (likely that same player) for assignment.

For that reason, Toronto could stay relatively active on the waiver wire through the heart of the season until the bench stabilizes. Remember, a bench bat doesn’t necessarily need to be a power-first hitter. Often, a high-average or contact-heavy bat with the ability to move or drive in a runner from second holds just as much value.

Regardless of which road is taken, it is likely that a move will come within the week as Toronto’s current eight-man bullpen is intended only to give the other arms a brief rest.