Blue Jays: Those in danger of being dropped from the 40-man roster

As the Blue Jays trudge on towards September and are trying to find their way into postseason contention, the club will need to go on a pretty hot run if they want to find themselves in an AL Wild Card spot. Right now, the team is currently 4.5 games back with the Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners ahead of them as the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics currently hold the two spots.

While Ross Atkins did go out and find some pitchers for the bullpen and another competent starter in Jose Berrios, the Blue Jays are still struggling late in games, evident by their latest 3-6 road trip. The Blue Jays do have some reinforcements in the minor leagues who are on the 40-man roster like Nate Pearson, A.J. Cole (rehab assignment), and Julian Merryweather (rehab assignment), there are a few others who are playing well down in Buffalo that could be considered as an asset to the team to finish the season but they don’t have a roster spot at the moment.

Pitchers like Bryan Baker, Dany Jimenez, Hobie Harris, and even Jacob Waguespack are having great seasons down in AAA but none of them are on the 40-man. The Blue Jays have had quite a bit of success with promoting internally, with Kirby Snead, Connor Overton, and Tayler Saucedo (at times) were all pitching well compared to some of the veteran players like Brad Hand and the now DFA Rafael Dolis.

The Toronto Blue Jays will be in a roster crunch when players return from the IL and some may be in danger of being dropped from the 40-man roster.

With active rosters expanding soon to 28 players and a few players like Cole, Merryweather (although he did have a setback), and Carl Edwards Jr. set to return from the 60-day IL, some roster moves will have to be made by the front office to either bring these players back from the IL or to call up another prospect to finish the season.

These are some of the players who could be moved off the 40-man roster before the season comes to an end.

Breyvic Valera

Claimed off of waivers from the New York Yankees back in 2019, Breyvic Valera returns to playing major league baseball after missing the 2020 season after experiencing issues trying to leave Venezuela and being placed on the restricted list. He appeared in five games for the Blue Jays in 2019, slashing .267/.267/.533 with one home run and a .800 OPS through 15 at-bats.

While the Blue Jays almost lost Valera after he was DFA in early 2020 and picked up by the San Diego Padres, the club would pick him back up after the Padres designated him later that year and just prior to the start of the shortened season.

This season, Valera started the year in Buffalo and was playing well before his call-up, slashing .313/.406/.460 with three home runs, 28 RBI, and a .866 OPS through 41 games and 180 plate appearances. Now on the Jays bench, the switch-hitting infielder is splitting time between second base and third base and currently owns a .220/.256/.268 slash line with nine hits, three RBI, and a .524 OPS through 41 at-bats.

Valera was playing well with Cavan Biggio on the IL but ever since the recent road trip, the switch hitter has had trouble putting the ball in play, seeing his average drop and going 2 for 15 since August 10th, currently riding a five-game streak with no hits (he was a defensive substitution in two more games that haven’t been included).

With Valera struggling to find ways to put the ball in play and with Cavan Biggio set to return in the near future, the Venezualan product may be a victim of the numbers game in the near future. The recent addition of Kevin Smith to the major league roster may also be tough to keep Valera around, although his saving grace may be when the rosters expand in September or if the club decides to keep Biggio down in AAA considering he is still struggling to put the ball in play as well.

Brad Hand

A name that most Jays fans were most likely waiting for on the list.

Acquired at the trade deadline from the Washington Nationals in exchange for prospect catcher Riley Adams, Brad Hand was brought in as a rental player given his veteran pedigree and ability to pitch in high-pressure situations late in ball games.

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Since joining the Blue Jays, Hand has struggled to find a groove in the bullpen, as the southpaw has pitched to a 7.50 ERA through eight appearances with two losses currently on his record. Through 6.0 innings pitched, the lefty has two walks, five strikeouts, and a 1.67 WHIP on the record.

Blue Jays fans are starting to lose their patience with Hand, with some of his noticeable highlights being:

• Giving up the eventual game-winning home run in extra innings against Cleveland in his second game with the club
• Walking home the winning run against the Seattle Mariners
• Surrendering two home runs and three earned runs against the Washington Nationals in the seventh inning after the Blue Jays offense took the lead in the top of the inning

While it seems unlikely that the Jays are going to remove Hand from the roster just yet, if the Minnesota product continues to struggle on the mound, it will be difficult to keep putting him out there if the club is really trying to contend this season.

His saving grace (like others on the list) may be when the rosters expand and he can be used in filler situations rather than later in the game, but with fellow southpaws Kirby Snead, Tim Mayza, and Tayler Saucedo also in the bullpen, the “keeping him in the bullpen because he is a lefty” arguement is not valid anymore.

While it would be a bit embarrassing for the front office to DFA a recent trade deadline acquisition, if Hand keeps going out there and failing to keep runs off the board, drastic actions might need to be taken and another arm from down in AAA can be brought up in his place.