Blue Jay: Where does the current roster stand in the long term plans?

Tier 4- The wild cards

I decided to split this up into five tiers, mostly because I think there’s a big difference between the two remaining groups. In Tier four, I’ll talk about a few guys that I don’t think the Blue Jays are counting on to be a part of their plans, but that have the potential to force the team’s hand.

Sean Reid-Foley is a great example of a pitcher with high-end talent that just can’t put things together, but I don’t think that will last for his entire career. Whether he needs one important adjustment to thrive as a starter, or eventually make a move to the bullpen, he has the makeup of someone who should thrive at the big league level. At this stage, I don’t know that the Blue Jays are counting on much from him though.

I would put Anthony Alford in this same category, and it’s a shame, because there was a time that I would have expected him to be in Tier 1. Unfortunately injuries have taken away a lot of opportunity from the talent prospect, but that doesn’t mean his career is over. Between trips to the IL this year he’s flashed the kind of talent that has made him a lot of Canadian fans, and if he can stay healthy then I wouldn’t be surprised to see him force his way to Toronto. He will have to surpass the aforementioned outfield depth though, and that won’t happen overnight.

As a third member of this tier, I think Reese McGuire fits, but for a different reason than the other two. McGuire has shown that he’s a capable big league catcher, and so far he’s worked well as a tandem with Danny Jansen. However, there’s a chance the Blue Jays may believe they can get more value by trading him to a catching-needy team. In the same breath, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Blue Jays stuck it out with the talented young duo, at least for the next season or two. As long as it’s working in distributing playing time, they’re a pretty good pair back there.