Blue Jays: Things to keep an eye on in Spring Training

With the lockout officially over and free agency back underway, all roads lead to spring training, where the Blue Jays will have a lot to figure out. With the signing of Yusei Kikuchi, the rotation seems more solidified, but the pitching staff is still far from certain, and the infield still has multiple positions up for grabs. The outfield may have three guys who seem to be locked in to start a full season but there’s still some uncertainty surrounding its depth, so that position group is also far from certain.

The team has made it clear that they want to contend for a World Series in 2022, and Spring Training is the start of that journey. This team is loaded with young talent and many of them, including Vladimir Guerrero Jr and Bo Bichette, have only played one full season at the major league level, so this year’s pre-season feels particularly important for them. The shortened Spring Training will also be important for the players who’ve been brought in from free agency to see where they fit within the team, or whether they’ll be on the roster come opening day. Add in players that could potentially be acquired as we draw closer to the season, and they’ll be plenty to look for down in Florida.

From the front office to the coaching staff, there’s plenty for the Blue Jays to evaluate in the next month prior to returning to Toronto, but some will be more important than others. Here are five things that I think you should keep an eye on in Spring Training.

Nate Pearson’s role

The former top right-handed pitching prospect in baseball, Nate Pearson, came up through the minors as a starter, but things seem to have changed. Over the past two seasons, Pearson has pitched a combined 33.0 innings and has struggled to the tune of a 5.18 ERA. To make things worse, Pearson has missed significant time due to injury, and for those reasons, he was relegated to the bullpen. The signing of Yusei Kikuchi seems to show that Pearson will remain there for now, but his exact role is still very unclear.

Throughout his brief time in the majors, the splits between Pearson as a starter and a reliever have been drastic. As a starter, he has a 7.23 ERA over 18.2 innings, with 6.8 K/9. Coming out of the bullpen though, he has a 2.51 ERA in 14.1 innings, with 13.8 K/9. Pearson’s skill set as a pitcher who can easily touch triple-digits, to go along with a wipeout slider, also projects well to a role in the bullpen.

While it may seem as though Pearson is set to be a reliever, at least for the time being, there is still reason to believe that he could be a successful starter. Whether they keep him there or try to stretch him out, the way the Blue Jays utilize him in Spring Training will tell us a lot about how the team views him. For Pearson, this Spring Training could be a make or break for him as a starter, so expect him to garner a lot of coverage over the next month.

The Young Infielders

Bichette, Biggio, and Espinal are all essentially locks to be on the opening day roster, but after them there’s an opening at the utility/backup infield position. This is an opportunity for one or two of the Blue Jays young infield prospects to make a splash in Spring Training and win a spot on the 26-man roster. The players I believe would be most likely to take that spot would be Kevin Smith (SS/3B) and Otto Lopez (2B/OF/SS), who are currently on the 40-man, as well as Jordan Groshans and Orelvis Martinez (both SS/3B), who are internal non-roster Spring Training invites.

Smith had 36 plate appearances in 2021, and Lopez had one, but the other two have yet to even reach AAA. That being said, I think that given how open this part of the lineup is, they all have a shot at making the roster. Alejandro Kirk was able to make an even bigger jump in 2020, so you can’t rule anything out.

I would expect all four of these guys to see at least a few starts in Spring Training, although probably less than they normally would since it’s shorter than usual. Because of this, they’ll have to make good first impressions in order to get a roster spot, but even if they can’t make the 26-man, their performance will absolutely impact their role with the team as the season goes on. The window is still open for the Jays to make some infield additions via either free agency or trade, but I’d be keeping an eye out for these guys to make a push for the opening day roster.

Catchers

Catcher may not be a position you would consider a strength of the team, but the Blue Jays actually have a pretty loaded catching room. As of now, the starting spot is Danny Jansen‘s to lose, but with Alejandro Kirk nipping at his tail, things could change. Add in Reese McGuire, who started the most games for the team at catcher in 2021, and their number one prospect, Gabriel Moreno, and catcher is looking like it could be the most interesting position in Spring Training.

While Jansen will likely be the starter on opening day, a strong Spring Training at the plate from Kirk could put some pressure on Jansen. For Reese McGuire, a roster spot is no guarantee and he will have to show that he can at least compete to avoid going back to Buffalo. Gabriel Moreno is perhaps the most interesting of the bunch given how many different paths he has.

Some believe that Moreno is such a good hitter that he should move to third to save his knees (similar to what happened with Josh Donaldson and Bryce Harper) and if he shows out at the plate, this could gain even more traction. Aside from just competing to make the team though, his name is one that often comes up in trade talks, and if he has a good performance in Spring Training, he could be the main piece of a big trade (like the aforementioned third basemen).

A lot is riding on Spring Training for these catchers, so expect them to all put their best foot forward once the games begin.

Randal Grichuk

He may not be the worst player in the world, but the fact is that Randal Grichuk has not been very good. In each of the last two full MLB seasons (2019,2020), Grichuk has finished dead last in the American League in on-base percentage and is coming off a season where he posted a career-low 89 OPS+ in 149 games and 545 plate appearances.

While a transition to being the team’s fourth outfielder could help him out, there are plenty of other players who would love to take his roster spot. Couple that with the Blue Jays reported interest in Kyle Schwarber, Grichuk has a lot riding on a strong Spring Training Performance. I would expect to see him getting some decent playing time this spring, to see what value he can bring to the team as their fourth outfielder and potential DH.

Grichuk is generally a pretty reliable fielder, despite finishing in the 30th percentile in outs above average in 2021, but given how much the Jays use ninth-inning defensive substitutions in the outfield, he’ll need to show that he can provide value there. He’ll also obviously need to show that he can get on base because as I mentioned before, he hasn’t been very good at that.

Out of all the Blue Jays vets, I would expect Grichuk to have to most pressure on him to perform in Spring Training since his job could depend on it. It wouldn’t be all that shocking if the Blue Jays found a trade partner for him either, especially because there likely isn’t much playing time waiting for him in Toronto in 2022 barring injury.