Blue Jays: How many names in ink? Not as many as you’d think

Written in ink into the lineup

For now, here’s what I’ve come up with as far as players we can be all but guaranteed to see in 2022. I’ve started with the lineup, and as always I’ll explain my rationale after, so try not to call for my head too quickly.

C- ?
1B- Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
2B- ?
3B- ?
SS- Bo Bichette
LF- ?
CF- George Springerr
RF- Teoscar Hernandez
DH-

Obviously I’ve left a few significant names off of my list here, but as I said before, this is a group that would considered to be written in ink. Allow me to explain the questions I could see Atkins and his team asking themselves over the winter, and even here in August. I also omitted Semien for now, although I’d sure love to see him back at second base next season.

I’ll start with the catching position, which is a spot on the Blue Jays lineup card that remains up in the air. My guess is that they’ll continue to roll with some combination of Danny Jansen, Reese McGuire, and Alejandro Kirk, at least to start the season, but it wouldn’t shock me if any of the three are shopped and/or traded over the winter. That’s because I think the job will be handed to Gabriel Moreno at some point next season, and I view this very much as a placeholder situation. I could be wrong about that, but if I’m on the right track then I would argue that the Jays should see what kind of value Kirk might carry on the trade market.

Next would be a list of infielders that includes Espinal, Smith, and the currently injured Cavan Biggio. What happens with them could be directly linked to whether Semien comes back, which would occupy second on a full-time basis. If he doesn’t, it wouldn’t shock me at all to see Biggio moved back to second. As for Smith and Espinal, it’s entirely possible that they could each get a shot at third base in 2022, but they’re hardly written in ink at this stage. As it was last winter, second and third base remain as question marks.

Why didn’t I include Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in left field? I’m not sure that he’s done enough to truly establish himself as a foundational piece of the core of the Blue Jays. He’s definitely a popular player and a well-liked teammate, but his defence in the outfield is still an issue even with a cannon for a throwing arm. It’s entirely possible that the Blue Jays give him another shot in 2022, but it wouldn’t shock me to see him move to more of a DH role, perhaps go back to experimenting with playing in the infield more, or even end up as a trade candidate. As for Randal Grichuk, I think they’ll hope to have him in a 4th outfielder role as long as Springer is healthy next season, or perhaps they’ll look to offload his salary in a trade.

Last but not least would be the DH spot, and I think we’ve seen the Blue Jays preference there this season. Ideally they’ll be able to use the DH spot to rotation in guys like Springer, Vlad Jr., Bichette, and more, in order to give them a half day off to rest their leagues. I fully expect that practice to continue next season, unless Gurriel Jr. gets the glove taken out of his hands.