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Blue Jays: Gosuke Katoh makes the team; Greg Bird opts out

Tyson Shushkewich
Tyson Shushkewich

Jays Journal

CLEARWATER, FLORIDA - MARCH 19: Gosuke Katoh #75 of the Toronto Blue Jays bats against the Philadelphia Phillies in a Spring Training game at BayCare Ballpark on March 19, 2022 in Clearwater, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)

As Spring Training starts to wind down and the Blue Jays’ home opener now just four days away, the last remaining roster spots are starting to get filled and the club officially has a full 40-man roster.

Per Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, infielder Gosuke Katoh has reportedly made the Opening Day roster in a bench capacity while veteran first baseman Greg Bird has opted out of his Minor-League contract and is now a free agent.

Both players were in the Blue Jays Spring Training camp on MiLB deals and were looking for a spot on the 40-man roster. After it was announced a couple of days ago that David Phelps had made the squad, only one roster spot remained for a player in camp on a Minor-League deal barring another player being DFA’d.

The Blue Jays’ 40-man roster is currently full after Gosuke Katoh has reportedly made the Major League roster while Greg Bird opts out of his MiLB deal.

Katoh had a strong showing this spring both at the plate and in the field. The former New York Yankees prospect has been a career minor league player up to this point, crafting a .259/.359/.388 slash line with 284 RBI and a .746 OPS through parts of eight MiLB seasons. This spring, the lefty-batter has proven to be a versatile defender and showcased a strong bat, going 8 for 23 with a home run, two doubles, and a .950 OPS while spending time at every infield position while committing no errors.

After spending 2021 in AAA with the Colorado Rockies organization, Bird entered the Blue Jays camp looking for a spot on the bench and looked like a front runner to gain the last roster spot heading into Opening Day. A lefty power bat, Bird amassed a .261 batting average through 23 at-bats while adding two home runs and six RBI to finish with a .958 OPS. The Tennesse product is now free to sign with any team across the MLB and should have a few suitors given his strong performance during the Blue Jays Spring Training camp.

It has yet to be seen whether newly acquired Zack Collins will be heading to Toronto for Opening Day, as the former White Sox catcher does have a minor league option at his disposal and would be the third catcher on the roster behind Danny Jansen and Alejandro Kirk. So far this spring, Collins has gone 2 for 12 with two walks and four strikeouts.

Tyson Shushkewich

Tyson Shushkewich

Tyson Shushkewich grew up in a small farming community just east of Lethbridge, Alberta. He would leave this small town for Halifax, Nova Scotia, and attend Dalhousie University, graduating with a degree in Environmental Science and Biology. Now residing in Central Ontario with his wife, Tyson has been a fan of baseball since he was 10 years old when his dad took him to his first game in Toronto. When he is not writing articles, you can find him hiking in the forests, sitting in the upper deck of the Rogers Centre, tweeting about his baseball memorabilia, or watching the game with his cat Apollo and Beagle-mix Archie.