Although it sure hasn’t felt like it, the Toronto Blue Jays are in the midst of a huge retooling of their roster this offseason to prepare themselves to be competitive once again for 2025. They may not have landed huge stars such as Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes and Max Fried to name a few, but they have added key arms to their pitching staff in bringing back Yimi García, trading for Nick Sandlin, and most recently signing All-Star Jeff Hoffman. They're also a (fingers crossed) finalist for Roki Sasaki.
On top of that, the Jays made a gutsy trade for Cleveland Guardians’ infielder Andrés Giménez, betting perhaps on the fact that he could be a consistent five-tool player in the big leagues in the long run. Together with adding a couple of more pitching depth moves, the Jays’ 40-man roster currently looks a lot different from what it was as of this time last year.
But the Jays aren’t likely finished just yet, as between now and spring training, their roster will likely continue to be in flux. That is because they should be looking to make a few more moves before the start of the 2025 season. As a result, let’s take a look at three Blue Jays players that won’t survive the 40-man roster crunch ahead of spring training as a fallout of such moves.
3 Blue Jays players who shouldn’t be on the 40-man roster by spring training
Zach Pop
It was just three years ago when Canadian reliever Zach Pop came over from the Miami Marlins at the 2022 trade deadline to help the Jays in their playoff run down the stretch. Pop performed admirably for Toronto in his role as a middle reliever, putting up career-best numbers by posting a 2-0 record with a stellar 1.89 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. He allowed just four earned runs with two walks and 11 strikeouts in 19 innings pitched over 17 appearances. With an impressive audition like that, he was expected to be a huge part of the Jays’ bullpen going forward.
However, Pop followed that up with two of his absolute worst years in the majors by compiling a 6.59 ERA, 67 ERA+ and 1.24 WHIP in an injury-ravaged 2023 season, and a gaudy 5.59 ERA, 73 ERA+ and 1.32 WHIP despite getting ample opportunities to play and get his game back on track in 2024. Since he has no minor-league options remaining, Pop will be the most likely candidate to be designated for assignment in response to the next move that the Jays make in the not-so-distant future.
Leo Jiménez
Top infield prospect Leo Jiménez finally made his MLB debut with the Jays last season after spending his previous five seasons developing in their minor-league system. Known for his defensive prowess, Jiménez put that on full display during his time with the big league club, as he registered only four errors for a solid .980 fielding percentage, along with two DRS in 64 games split between second base and shortstop. Although his offense left a bit to be desired, he still managed 18 runs scored, 11 doubles, four home runs and 19 RBI in 179 total at-bats during 2024, giving him a solid foundation to build upon.
However, Jiménez finds himself in a precarious position, alongside fellow infield prospects Addison Barger, Will Wagner and Orelvis Martinez, who are vying for limited potential spots on the Jays’ roster going forward. Together with the recent acquisition of Giménez, this group has encountered an infield logjam for the Jays heading into the upcoming season. With most of the aforementioned players having much greater offensive potential that Jiménez, which is an area of dire need for Toronto, it likely will leave Jiménez on the outside looking in for the near future. As a result, he would be better used as a valuable trade chip instead. That way, it would help the Jays relieve some of that logjam and address another key area of need prior to the start of the 2025 regular season at the same time.
Bo Bichette
Normally, one wouldn’t expect a team’s star player to be on a list like this, but here we are with star shortstop Bo Bichette. Bichette is coming off his worst ever year in the majors when he compiled a dismal .225 average, .598 OPS, 29 runs scored, 16 doubles, four home runs and 31 RBI in 81 games played in an injury-riddled 2024 campaign. But that isn’t really the reason why the Jays should part ways with the 26-year-old superstar, since he could potentially bounce back in a big way.
The genesis of this idea is more so based on Bichette living in various trade rumors this past year, along with the unnerving feeling that he wanted to leave the entire time. That notion has escalated in recent days, as MLB insider Bob Nightengale recently claimed that “Bichette is as good as gone [after 2025], with no real interest in returning, friends say”.
If Nightengale’s comments bear any weight, then it would be a wise decision for the Jays to move Bichette as soon as possible while he still has some value right now. The nightmare scenarios for Toronto would include:
- Bichette playing through the 2025 season and then leaving via free agency for nothing
- Bichette having another underwhelming season, thus verifying his recent regression and decreasing his trade value even more
- Bichette getting moved at the deadline as a rental, thus losing some value compared to a year’s worth of him
As a result, it will hurt a lot, but moving the franchise player before spring training might be the best way for the Jays to maximize his value to get back as many helpful assets as possible.