3 Blue Jays players who will be on short leashes if they make the 2026 roster

With the Toronto Blue Jays making various moves so far this offseason, it has inadvertently created a roster crunch heading into the 2026 MLB season. As a result, many players will find themselves battling it out for a spot on the Opening Day roster during Spring Training.

But even if they end up making the team to start the season, it doesn’t necessarily mean their job is secure for the rest of the year.

3 Blue Jays players who will be on short leashes if they make the 2026 roster

Tommy Nance

Acquired from the San Diego Padres following the trade deadline in 2024, Tommy Nance helped fill out the Blue Jays’ bullpen down the stretch that year in finishing off their disappointing campaign. Nance would amass a 4.09 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, giving up 10 earned runs with 19 strikeouts in 22 total innings over 20 appearances. 

The 34-year-old right-hander wasn’t in the Blue Jays’ plans early on in 2025 when he was designated for assignment prior to the start of the regular season to make room for others that made the Opening Day roster. Nance wouldn’t get his chance again until later in July when his contract was selected and called up to Toronto. From there, he would perform admirably for the Blue Jays down the stretch, posting a stellar 1.99 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, giving up just seven earned runs together with 32 strikeouts.

Despite the impressive performance, Nance would see only two games during the MLB Playoffs in the ALDS against the New York Yankees before he was left off the roster for the rest of the postseason. With bullpen standouts such as Louis Varland, Braydon Fisher and Mason Fluharty surpassing him in the pecking order with strong postseason showings, Nance will likely have an uphill battle to climb in 2026 to prove once again that he deserves a spot. He'll have an inside track considering he has no minor league options remaining, so the Blue Jays may elect to give him a longer leash considering a trip back to Triple-A for Nance would mean passing through waivers.

Brendon Little

Acquired from the Chicago Cubs during the 2023-24 offseason, Brendon Little was perhaps one of the Blue Jays’ best relievers during the first half of 2025. However, Little would struggle immensely down the stretch, posting a 5.57 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, giving up 13 earned runs with 16 walks and 21 strikeouts in 21 innings pitched in his final 30 relief appearances.

Those struggles would unfortunately follow him into the MLB Playoffs where he would go 0-2 with a blown save, along with a dismal 11.25 ERA while giving up five earned runs on seven hits with five walks and just three strikeouts in four innings of work over six postseason appearances. Little will need to show that he is more of the reliable, consistent version that we saw during the first half of 2025, and not the one down the stretch and in the playoffs.

Otherwise, he could see a similar fate as fellow teammate Yariel Rodríguez, who also struggled down the stretch last season while posting similar numbers to Little. As those would recall, Rodríguez ended up being outright off the Jays’ 40-man roster this offseason.

Davis Schneider 

Davis Schneider had been struggling to find some consistency since his tantalizing MLB debut with the Blue Jays three years ago. Following a disappointing campaign in 2024 in which he compiled a .191 average, .625 OPS, along with 13 home runs, 46 RBIs and 144 strikeouts in just 397 at-bats, Schneider saw a stint with the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bisons in 2025 to try and rediscover his game.

In the end, Schneider finished with a .234/.361/.436 slash line with a .797 OPS, hitting 11 home runs and driving in 31 RBIs in 82 games played with Toronto during the regular season.

But what became evident during the postseason was that the 26-year-old was not part of the regular rotation of starters or defensive replacements for the Blue Jays. The likes of Addison Barger, Ernie Clement, Andrés Giménez, Nathan Lukes and Myles Straw all saw playing time practically almost every game, whereas Schneider started just five playoff games in total while seeing action in just eight in total. Other than a home run in Game 5 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, his contribution was in large part mainly negligible.

Now with the return of Anthony Santander from injury for this upcoming season, along with the recent addition of Kazuma Okamoto, it puts the pressure on Schneider to perform in order to maintain a major league roster spot.