3 Blue Jays that should make the Opening Day roster, but could be gone by May

As Spring Training begins to wind down in the coming days, the battle for potential roster spots has remained intense for the Toronto Blue Jays. With the start of the 2026 MLB regular season just over a week away, many Blue Jays players are trying to make some last-minute strong impressions to boost their chances of making the big league club.

But even if some of them end up succeeding in winning out a spot on the Blue Jays’ 26-man roster and head up north to Toronto with the team, it doesn’t guarantee that their spot is secure for the rest of the season. The roster is ever evolving and some players who underperform could end up being gone by May.

Opening Day hopefuls who could be off the Blue Jays roster by May

P Tommy Nance

Acquired from the San Diego Padres during their disappointing 2024 season, Tommy Nance was statistically one of the top arms in the Blue Jays bullpen down the stretch this past year. Nance compiled a 2-0 record with a stellar 1.99 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, along with 32 strikeouts in 31.1 innings pitched over 30 relief appearances for Toronto.

Despite the numbers Blue Jays manager John Schneider predominantly used Nance in lower-leverage situations which limited his impact as a whole and created a question mark on whether he could actually handle higher-leverage situations. As a result, Nance was the odd man out on the Blue Jays postseason roster following the ALDS whenChris Bassitt and Max Scherzer were added back into the mix.

This spring, the 34-year-old journeyman has struggled to a 6.75 ERA, 2.06 WHIP, giving up four earned runs on eight hits with three walks and six strikeouts in 5.1 innings pitched over five relief appearances. However, because Nance is out of options for the 2026 season, the Blue Jays may have no choice but to include him on the roster to start the year or risk losing him for nothing. But if his performance to start the year continues to resemble the results seen this spring and not the ones from 2025, he may not end up lasting that much longer.

INF Leo Jiménez 

Another promising top prospect that has been part of the Blue Jays system for quite some time now, Leo Jiménez has failed to produce that breakout campaign to cement himself on the Blue Jays' major league roster during the past couple of years. Despite having appeared in 81 games already with the big league club, Jiménez has amassed just a feeble .207 average, .635 OPS, with 20 runs scored, 11 doubles, five home runs and 20 RBIs to go along with 67 strikeouts in 208 at-bats.

This spring, the 24-year-old infielder continued to put up similar numbers, sporting a .235 average, .585 OPS, along with two runs scored and two RBIs in nine total games played with the Blue Jays. His defense has never posed a worry for Toronto, as it was always among his main strengths. However, Jiménez needs to show that his bat is also playable at the major league level in order to maintain an MLB gig for the long run. Similar to Nance, Jiménez is also out of minor league options.

One of the Rule 5 draftees: P Angel Bastardo or P Spencer Miles

The Blue Jays have snagged two promising arms that caught their eye in Angel Bastardo and Spencer Miles during the last two Rule 5 Drafts. But because Bastardo was injured for the 2025 season, the stipulations for being a Rule 5 draftee didn’t apply to him until this year. As a result, both pitchers have been trying their best with their spring auditions to make the Blue Jays’ Opening Day roster. Otherwise, they will be returned to their respective organizations at the start of the year.

Miles has appeared in five games for Toronto so far in spring training, compiling a 4.05 ERA with a nine strikeouts in 6.2 innings pitched. However, he has been a bit shaky with his command, leading to five walks over that same time frame. On the other hand, Bastardo may be putting his high-90s fastball on full display, but has also put up some mixed results registering a tidy 3.18 ERA, but with five walks and two strikeouts in 5.2 innings over five appearances. 

It would be a shame for the Blue Jays to lose both high potential arms without giving them a longer look when facing more major league hitters. Especially when Toronto was willing to take a gamble by adding veteran arms Richard Lovelady and Jacob Barnes to their 2025 Opening Day roster last year because of their strikeout abilities, despite Lovelady and Barnes putting up a dismal 6.48 ERA and 6.75 ERA respectively in spring training.

As a result, look for Bastardo and/or Miles to be given the chance by the Blue Jays to start the regular season, but could suffer the same fate as their predecessors if they don’t end up delivering.