Blue Jays: Who is going to be the 25th man on the Opening Day roster?

The Blue Jays roster for the 2019 season is starting to come together, but one decision that will need to be made is who will be the 25th man come Opening Day.

With the calendar turning to February we can actually start to look forward to baseball without it seeming like a lifetime away. It might still be Winter, especially for those of us dealing with a mid-winter deep freeze right now, but pitchers and catchers are reporting to Spring Training in less than two weeks and that makes me feel a little warmer somehow.

For the Blue Jays the offseason doesn’t feel like it’s complete just yet, but the same could be said for many teams across baseball, and even for some of the premium free agents like Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, and more who are still waiting for their next contracts. That said, I feel like this week’s signing of Freddy Galvis might have completed things on the position player side of the roster in Toronto, and that Ross Atkins and company will focus the rest of their attention on another bullpen piece or two if anything.

If that’s the case, then what do the Blue Jays have for a roster as of this writing? Well, let’s have a look:

• C: Danny Jansen, Luke Maile
• 1B: Justin Smoak,
• 2B: Devon Travis, Brandon Drury
• SS: Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Freddy Galvis
• 3B: Drury
• RF: Randal Grichuk
• CF: Kevin Pillar
• LF: Teoscar Hernandez, Billy McKinney
• DH: Kendrys Morales

You’ll notice two things about the group above: 1) I only included those that I see as guarantees to make the team out of spring training, and McKinney’s inclusion is debatable at this point even if he did play well for the Blue Jays down the stretch. 2) There are only 12 players on this list, and unless they plan on carrying eight relievers to break camp, then they’ll have room for one more.

That spot will definitely go to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at some point, but it looks like he is going to start the season in Buffalo to “work on his defence”, or something like that.

Assuming that’s the case, who might be the 25th man in Toronto this year? Here are the options that make the most sense to me right now, assuming the front office doesn’t sign anyone else prior to Opening Day.