3 Blue Jays prospects who are expendable, 2 they should keep for 2025

In preparation ahead of the 2025 MLB season, the Toronto Blue Jays will begin their journey to significantly retool their roster during the upcoming offseason. Aside from looking at external options in free agency and the trade market, the Jays have some promising internal ones as well in the form of their top prospects. Those prospects could either step in and potentially play a role over the course of the upcoming year, or they cousl become valuable trade chips in which the Jays could use to help make the team competitive once again.

As a result, we will take a look at three Blue Jays prospects that could be expendable going forward and two others that they should keep for 2025 to help them get back to their winning ways.

3 Blue Jays prospects who are expendable, 2 they should keep for 2025

Expendable: P Brandon Barriera

When the Jays took pitcher Brandon Barriera out of American Heritage High School in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft, they had high expectations for the intriguing left-hander. After all, the Jays Journal No. 15 prospect instantly risen to become the organization’s second-best prospect behind Ricky Tiedemann according to MLB Pipeline in his first year as a pro in 2023.

Following an impressive debut start in which Barriera when four strong shutout innings while striking out six, things have gone downhill for him ever since. He would end up missing the bulk of the 2023 season due to elbow and biceps injuries that limited him to just seven starts in total. In those starts, Barriera posted a 0-2 record with a 3.98 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, along with 9 walks and 25 strikeouts in 20.1 innings pitched. 2024 was substantially worse for Barriera, as he would make only one start before undergoing season-ending combination Tommy John surgery and internal brace procedure on his left elbow.

As the Jays restocked their farm system with a boatload of arms from the 2024 MLB Draft and the trade deadline, Barriera has gradually fallen down the organization’s pitching prospects depth chart in the process. With the Jays looking to become contenders once again in the upcoming year, they may not have the patience to wait and see how Barriera turns out. Especially now that he appears to be at least two to three years away from being ready due to the setback in his growth and development, they should use him as a potential trade chip while he still possesses some fair value.