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Blue Jays: Time to make a switch with Bradley Zimmer’s roster spot

By Tyson Shushkewich

TORONTO, ON - MAY 4: Bradley Zimmer #7 of the Toronto Blue Jays bats during a MLB game against the New York Yankees at Rogers Centre on May 4, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - MAY 4: Bradley Zimmer #7 of the Toronto Blue Jays bats during a MLB game against the New York Yankees at Rogers Centre on May 4, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – APRIL 21: Cavan Biggio #8 of the Toronto Blue Jays bats during the game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Thursday April 21, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Rob Tringali/SportsChrome/Getty Images) /

Replace with a Player from the IL

Yesterday the Toronto Blue Jays made some roster moves with Teoscar Hernandez and Ryan Borucki returning from the IL. Both Casey Lawerence and Julian Merryweather were optioned off to AAA to accommodate both returns, leaving the club with 13 pitchers and 13 position players.

Hyun Jin Ryu, Cavan Biggio, and Danny Jansen are notable players on the IL right now and will most likely require a roster spot once healthy. Nate Pearson and Tayler Saucedo are also on the IL but I would not say either is guaranteed a spot on the Jays roster once healthy (at least at this time, especially depending on how the club plans to use Pearson). The club is allowed to carry one additional pitcher (14 total) until the end of May with the recent rule changes due to the shortened Spring Training.

Ryu will most likely bump a pitcher down to AAA and push Ross Stripling back to the bullpen while Jansen will probably take over and drop Tyler Heineman down to Buffalo, leaving the Jays with three catchers again. Biggio is a bit of a wild card given his slow start to the year but could take Vinny Capra’s spot on the roster once he is ready to go and be the bench infielder with two additional outfield bench pieces.

While these are just potential moves the club could make, the Jays’ front office could also drop Bradley Zimmer and keep someone like Capra on the roster moving forward or replace him with a player from the Minor Leagues as I mentioned earlier. Lots of wiggle room with how the bench could be stacked up when you include the third catcher in Zack Collins as well as Raimel Tapia in the outfield (now that Hernandez is back).

Next. Cavan Biggio’s role when he returns from the IL. dark

Overall, with Hernandez back on the team, Zimmer is most likely going to be relegated to the bench and used mostly as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement. It may not be long before his time on the roster is up though as players return from the IL and some players down in Buffalo continue to keep playing well and he continues to struggle in the batter’s box.

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