Toronto Blue Jays: Five players on the roster bubble for next season

Ryan Borucki –  LHP

Making a name for himself during his rookie campaign, left-hander Ryan Borucki has had a roller coaster of a career in just four seasons at the Major League level.

He would make 17 starts for the Jays in 2018 and would pitch to a 3.87 ERA through 97.2 innings as one of the club’s more dependable arms but would miss almost all of 2019 with an arm injury. These past two seasons saw Borucki move into a bullpen role, with the southpaw finding success last year to the tune of a 2.70 ERA through 21 games during the shortened campaign but would struggle this year, appearing in only 24 games and throwing to a 4.94 ERA while spending time on the IL before being demoted to the minor leagues to end the season.

This offseason, Borucki will be hitting arbitration for the first time in his career and is slated to earn approximately $800,000 as per MLB Trade Rumours. I can’t really see the club non-tendering the Illinois product considering the financial value is not going to hurt the pocketbook but he could be designated for assignment if the Jays really need a spot on the 40-man roster. I also doubt that is going to happen but there is always a possibility.

Considering Tim Mayza emerged as the club’s top southpaw in the bullpen last year and with the emergence of Kirby Snead and Tayler Saucedo internally, Borucki is on the outside looking in coming into the 2022 season.

He will need to have a solid spring if he wants to crack the Opening Day roster and will also need to stay healthy, as he has missed some considerable time over the past three seasons.