3 Blue Jays players facing make-or-break seasons heading into 2026

The Toronto Blue Jays have made various major moves this offseason to bolster their roster, whether it be in the pitching department with Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce, Tyler Rogers and Chase Lee, or in the hitting department with Kazuma Okamoto. Not to mention the Blue Jays will have their prized offseason signing from last year officially back in Anthony Santander to boost their lineup as well.

However, with these new additions along with players coming back from almost season-long injuries, it has inadvertently created a roster crunch for Toronto ahead of the 2026 MLB season. With fewer spots up for grabs heading into spring training, there will be various players fighting for jobs as well as their future with the organization.

3 Blue Jays players facing make-or-break seasons heading into 2026

Bowden Francis 

It wasn’t too long ago when Bowden Francis had his breakout performance with the Blue Jays during the latter parts of the 2024 season. By going 5-3 with a stellar 1.80 ERA, 0.60 WHIP with 58 strikeouts in 65 total innings that included two near-no-hitters in his final 11 games that year, Francis appeared to finally have a firm lock on a major league roster spot for good going forward.

However, the 29-year-old right-hander would follow it up with a disastrous 2025 MLB campaign in which he posted a 2-8 record with a 6.05 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, giving up 43 earned runs including19 home runs in just 64 innings pitched over 14 starts. To make things worse, Francis would spend the latter half of the season on the injured list due to a right shoulder impingement.

With the Blue Jays making massive additions to the pitching staff this offseason, Francis could be facing stiff competition just to make Toronto’s Opening Day roster. But already at age 29 entering the 2026 season, he will need to show that he can provide consistency either as a starter or a reliever going forward to maintain a gig in the majors.

Leo Jiménez 

As a former top 5 prospect in the organization dating back to as recent as 2024, according to MLB Pipeline, the Blue Jays have been patiently waiting for the arrival of Leo Jiménez at the major league level.

However, after showing some promise during his stint with Toronto during the 2024 MLB season in which he compiled a .229 average, .686 OPS, along with 18 runs scored, 11 doubles, four home runs and 19 RBIs in 63 games played, he became a negligible piece in the Blue Jays’ contending puzzle in 2025.

With a stacked Blue Jays lineup this past season, Jiménez received minimal opportunities to shine with the big league club, while failing to produce when finally given the chance. In 18 games, the 24-year-old infielder posted a dismal .069 average, .301 OPS, with just two runs scored, one home run and one RBI over 32 plate appearances.

The Blue Jays resorted to the likes of Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Davis Schneider and an offensively-struggling Andrés Giménez to hold down the fort down the stretch when Bo Bichette was injured instead of giving Jiménez a shot in an infield role.

With both Bichette and Kiner-Falefa having left Toronto via free agency this winter, it gives Jiménez another opportunity to showcase himself as a viable utility infield option for the club in 2026, but Jiménez will need to show he can put up sustainable offensive numbers to go along with his above average defense.

Davis Schneider 

For Davis Schneider, he certainly had one of the best debuts ever for a Blue Jays player, not to mention in MLB history, when he first arrived on the scene in Toronto back in August of 2023. That's when Schneider amassed a strong .276 average, 1.008 OPS, along with 23 runs scored, eight home runs and 20 RBIs in 35 total games played down the stretch that year and appeared to be an under-the-radar star-in-the-making for the Blue Jays.

However, his production has since been quite inconsistent during the past couple of seasons with Toronto. In 217 total games during that stretch, Schneider has put up just a .204 average, .681 OPS, with 81 runs scored, 24 doubles, 24 home runs and 77 RBIs, while he's also struck out 204 times in 585 at-bats.

It had even gotten to a point that he needed a stint in the minors to get his game back on track after a dismal start to his 2025 campaign. As a result, Schneider was used more sparingly during the Blue Jays’ postseason run last year as other players higher in the pecking order received more valuable playing time.

Therefore, with another new year ahead for the 27-year-old utilityman, he will need to convince the Blue Jays that he could be more of the 2023 version and less of the 2024 and 2025 version of himself.

Especially now with the return of Santander, as well as internal competition for an infield reserve role, along with Okamoto potentially seeing outfield time on top of his third base position, Schneider likely has his last chance to impress the Blue Jays’ brass to ensure that he will be in their long-term plans for good.