Blue Jays: Four players who may be off the 40-man roster come spring

While it is too early to determine the Blue Jays roster situation before free agency begins, there are a few names who will be heading for the open market and most likely not returning. Robbie Ray, Steven Matz, and Marcus Semien are eligible bachelors this winter alongside Corey Dickerson, Kirby Yates, David Phelps, Jarrod Dyson, and Joakim Soria, opening up some spots on the 40-man with the front office already designating relief pitcher Jacob Barnes for assignment earlier this week.

Considering it is still up in the air as to whether the club can or wants to retain any of the free agents besides the main three, the Blue Jays will also need to consider potential prospects who may be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. They will need to be added to the 40-man roster in order to be protected from the draft but each player who takes up a spot is potentially taking away the opportunity for a free agent to join the organization. While this isn’t a concern right now, as the offseason progresses towards Spring Training, the roster will get a bit tighter and some players may be cut from the 40-man roster before spring rolls around.

That doesn’t mean any player cut from the roster won’t be in the organization anymore, as they could pass through waivers or not be traded/released, heading down to the minors just like Rafael Dolis did towards the end of last season. It just means their path back to the majors is a bit more complicated, although not entirely impossible just like how Reese McGuire found his way back on the roster when Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen were on the injured list.

With an exciting few months on the horizon, here are three players who may not be on the 40-man roster when Spring Training rolls around next season.

Reese McGuire

A former first-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates back in 2013, Reese McGuire has seen his fair share of appearances at the Major League level with the Blue Jays but has never fully cemented himself as a full-time player.

Over parts of four seasons, McGuire has amassed a .248/.297/.390 slash line with nine home runs, 26 RBI, and a .687 OPS through 367 at-bats in 141 games. Defensively, McGuire has been solid behind the plate, throwing out 30.1% of base stealers and sporting a .994 fielding percentage with only six errors and eight passed balls for his career.

This past season was one of McGuire’s best on record, which is somewhat amusing because he began the year the same way as Valera, designated for assignment and beginning the year in AAA after passing through waivers. His time in Buffalo would be short-lived as Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen both found themselves on the injured list, meaning McGuire was required in Toronto. Even when both catchers returned from the IL, the lefty batter stayed on the roster and the club finished the season with three catchers, with the Washington product slashing on the year .253/.310/.343 with a .654 OPS through 198 at-bats.

There are a few players on the Blue Jays 40-man roster whose days may be numbered as the club looks to make some moves this offseason and protect some prospects from the Rule 5 Draft.

Even after the season he had, there are a few things standing in McGuire’s way in staying on the 40-man roster. The Jays continue to give Jansen’s reps at the big league level and with Kirk and top prospect Gabriel Moreno both looking for playing time as well, McGuire might just be pushed out from the equation. He also does not have any remaining minor league options, which is why the club had to DFA him last season rather than just straight optioning him off the active roster.

Personally, I think if McGuire gets DFA’d this offseason, he will not make it through the waiver wire again. He could also be traded similar to what happened with Joel Payamps last year, with the return for the former top prospect not being too overwhelming in terms of value.

Trent Thornton

While Trent Thornton was a workhorse for the club back in 2019, the tides have turned for the former Houston Astros prospect as he has struggled to find a rhythm in the Major Leagues since his rookie season.

Joining the Jays during the 2018/2019 offseason in exchange for infielder Aledmys Diaz with the Astros, Thornton was the innings-eater the organization needed in 2019, starting 29 games through 32 appearances and pitching 154.1 innings on his way to a 4.84 ERA with 149 strikeouts and a 1.41 WHIP. While the numbers are not eye-popping, Thornton was healthy and was able to pitch deep enough into games and was able to give the bullpen some time off during a season that saw the last remaining veteran players from the 2015-2016 playoff squad head out of town (minus Justin Smoak, he was around til the end of that season).

https://twitter.com/astros/status/1063828209848983553

Since then, the right-hander has battled injuries and has struggled on the mound, appearing in just three games in 2020 while riding the options bus this past campaign, eventually finishing with 37 outings and throwing to a 4.78 ERA.

For the first time in his career, Thornton is eligible for arbitration this offseason, with MLB Trade Rumours predicting a $900,000 salary for the North Carolina product after the past few seasons he has put together with the Blue Jays. There is a possibility that the club could non-tender Thornton if they value the open roster spot instead of spending the $900K but given the low salary he would require, it is more likely he receives a contract offer this winter.

He does have two minor league options available and could keep riding the line between both AAA and the MLB but don’t be surprised if the Jays DFA him to open a spot on the roster, although this will likely only happen if the club gets tight on space come Spring Training. I would say the chances of Thornton being DFA’d are low but not low enough that he is the “safe zone” if you will.

Anthony Castro

Designated by the Detroit Tigers this past offseason, he would eventually settle in with the Blue Jays to start the year after spending the majority of his professional career in the Tigers minor league system.

Castro would make his Blue Jays debut on April 14th and would pitch well, failing to surrender an earned run until his seventh outing in mid-May. Similar to some other names on this list, Castro was optioned between the minor leagues and the active roster numerous times this season.

This may have had an impact on his performance towards the end of the campaign, as the right-hander would start to struggle in mid-June and eventually finished the year with a 4.74 ERA through 25 games with 32 strikeouts and a 1.26 WHIP. The Venezuelan product also missed some time in July on the IL, which may have also been a reason for the rough outings towards the end of the season.

While it looked like the right-hander was a diamond in the rough type of pickup this offseason, he slowly started to lose the fan’s confidence when he started to struggle and was not the same type of pitcher that we saw earlier in the year.

He does have one minor league option left which could be a benefit to having him on the 40-man roster but considering the Blue Jays have a few internal prospects looking for spots in the bullpen like Kirby Snead, Tayler Saucedo, Bryan Baker, and Hobie Harris (not on the 40-man roster), Castro’s time on the Jays roster could be over if the front office feels that they have enough depth within the farm system and need the spot.