2 smart decisions and 2 clear failures on 2025 Blue Jays Opening Day roster

After enduring a disappointing 2024 MLB season, the Toronto Blue Jays worked hard to retool their roster this offseason with the hopes of becoming competitive for 2025. Whether it be from trades, free agent signings or waiver claims, the Jays' roster underwent a huge makeover in the hopes of bringing a World Series title to Toronto.

As a result, the Blue Jays made some bold moves when they finalized their 2025 Opening Day roster. Some of them look great, while some others don't.

2 smart decisions and 2 clear failures on 2025 Blue Jays Opening Day roster

Smart decision: Trading for Andrés Giménez and batting him in the heart of the order

Last December, the Jays made a surprising offseason move when they acquired second baseman Andrés Giménez and pitched Nick Sandlin from the Cleveland Guardians. The Jays entered the offseason in desperate need for offense, outfield and pitching help, so the addition of Sandlin made sense. But, on the other side, the addition of Giménez baffled many observers. 

First of all, Toronto already had an logjam of infielders at the time, so adding another one didn't seem like a high need. Secondly, his offensive numbers had been on the decline in each of the past two seasons, so it's not like Giménez looked like a big offensive addition.

However, the 26-year-old infielder has sure proved us wrong so fa. During spring training, Giménez batted .283 with two home runs, 11 RBI and two stolen bases in 18 games while playing Gold Glove caliber defense.

That strong performance led to Giménez batting leadoff on Opening Day, and he delivered right away by slugging a home run in his first game with his new ballclub. What appeared to be a questionable move this past offseason could now be a huge positive. This is a trade that has looked better by the day.