2 Blue Jays who deserve an Opening Day spot, 1 who lost theirs during Spring Training

Spring Training is the time of year where players can earn a big league gig, as well as some who could eventually lose theirs. For the Toronto Blue Jays, the battle for potential roster spots have been ongoing since the start of training camp last month. 

With two weeks of Spring Training already in the bag, some Blue Jays have shown that they belong while others are potentially losing their hold on an MLB.

2 Blue Jays who deserve an Opening Day spot, 2 who lost one during Spring Training 

José Berríos deserves an Opening Day spot in the rotation for the Blue Jays

For someone that looked to be on his way out soon after his struggles and resulting actions at the end of last season, José Berríos appears to be a man on a redemption mission this spring. In three starts, Berríos has regained some of his prior dominant form, pitching to a 1-0 record with a tidy 3.38 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, giving up just four earned runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts in 10.2 innings pitched.

With the additions of Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce this offseason by the Blue Jays, along with the emergence of Trey Yesavage from last year’s World Series run, Berríos was predicted to be in tough to land back a rotation spot for the 2026 season, with even the potential that he could be traded.

But if he keeps doing what he is currently doing in re-establishing himself as a front-end starter, the Blue Jays may have no choice but to reinstate the 31-year-old right-hander in their starting five by Opening Day.

Davis Schneider may have lost an Opening Day spot with the Blue Jays

Davis Schneider has always had the power since arriving in the majors with the Blue Jays in 2023. However, by struggling to maintain consistency with his hitting for much of the past three years, it has ultimately limited his overall sustainable impact on the team. In fact, it led to Schneider being used sparingly during their postseason run last fall while many of his counterparts received ample playing time in his place.

As a result, Schneider needs to prove his worth once again this spring to justify his hold on a roster spot for the 2026 MLB season. The 27-year-old utilityman has gotten off to an abysmal start with an .063 average, .381 OPS, with only one hit to show for in 22 total plate appearances over eight games played.

Schneider will need to quickly turn his game around, or else he could find himself starting the season in the minors instead of heading up north with his teammates to begin the year.

Eloy Jiménez deserves an Opening Day spot as a reserve for the Blue Jays

Former top prospect Eloy Jiménez may have endured some massive struggles during the past few seasons, but Jiménez is certainly hoping that the opportunity given to him by the Blue Jays can help reignite his bat once and for all to get his once-promising career back on track. In doing so, the 29-year-old slugger has been flourishing so far in his spring audition with Toronto.

In nine total games played, Jiménez has posted an impressive .391/.417/.652 slash line with a 1.069 OPS, with three runs scored, three doubles, one home run and two RBIs. More importantly, having been hit with frequent injury woes for the bulk of his career, he has looked strong and healthy as ever in regaining some of his confidence and flare at the same time. At the rate Jiménez is playing at, he should be on the 26-man roster by Opening Day and play a bench role similar to what Ty France did for Toronto down the stretch last year.