Blue Jays: If MLB had expansion draft, who would the Jays protect?

As the NHL approaches their expansion draft, it got me wondering who the Blue Jays would protect if they had to choose only 10 players.

The NHL has been buzzing with news of their expansion draft this week, as the league is facing the addition of the Las Vegas Golden Knights. When a new team is added to the league, each franchise goes through a process prior to the expansion draft, where they choose a set number of players to protect in the expansion draft. The whole thing reveals a lot about how each club views their assets.

With that in mind, it had me wondering who the Blue Jays might protect if the MLB went through the same process. In the NHL model, each team is allowed to protect either 8 or 10 players, depending on the formula they choose between forwards, defensemen, and goaltenders. For the purpose of this exercise let’s pretend the Jays have 10 spots to work with.

I’ve determined my list using a variety of factors including age, potential, salary, contract commitment, etc, so it’s not a list of who I view as the best players on the team by any means. I’ve also decided to keep it to players who have made an MLB appearance this season, so for example, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. does not make the list, but Dwight Smith Jr. would be eligible.