Blue Jays: Players who could be dropped before Opening Day

Late Additions

Prior to the lockout, the Blue Jays added four players to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft:

• RHP Hagen Danner
• RHP Bowden Francis
• LHP Zach Logue
• INF Leo Jimenez

With the lockout now over, the MLB and MLBPA decided to scrap the Rule 5 Draft this offseason, all four players are now on the 40-man roster when they may still be a year or two away from making their MLB debut. Francis and Logue are closer to reaching the big leagues, as both are expected to start the year in AAA, while Danner and Jimenez are still in the lower Minor League levels and at this point in their careers, don’t necessarily require a spot on the roster.

That being said, the risk associated with removing any of these four players is that any team could pick them up via outright waivers, which is more of a concern for Logue and Francis compared to Danner and Jimenez, as any selected player needs to remain on the 40-man of the club that selects them. This could result in a Joel Payamps situation like last offseason, as the right-hander was waived and picked up by the Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox numerous times.

It will be interesting to see what the club decides to do with these four particular players but the club could decide to DFA one or more if they add some veteran talent this offseason. Wait and see at this point.