3 Blue Jays who have hurt their stock this spring

We may only be a week into spring training, but that's still been enough time for the Toronto Blue Jays players competing for a permanent role ahead of the 2025 MLB season to have played enough to impact their standing ahead of Opening Day.

While struggling out of the gate doesn't make or break a player’s camp, a hot start over the first week does go a long way in improving a player's chances of landing a spot on the Jays' MLB roster.

And although there have been plenty of strong starts by Blue Jays so far this spring, there have also been a select few that have lagged behind.

Here are three Blue Jays who have hurt their stock with less-than-stellar performances through the first week of spring training.

Three Blue Jays who have hurt their stock so far this spring training

OF RJ Shreck

Already a long shot in making the Opening Day roster heading into training camp with the Jays, Shreck sure hadn’t been doing himself any favors so far this spring. Shreck is coming off a solid 2024 minor league campaign in which he posted a .251 average and .851 OPS to go along with 69 runs scored, 29 doubles, 17 home runs, 63 RBI and 13 stolen bases in 114 games between the Jays and Seattle Mariners’ organizations. More importantly, he has consistently demonstrated strong plate discipline over his six-year professional baseball career with a walk-to-strikeout ratio close to 1:1. 

However, Shreck hasn’t exactly stood out in spring training, especially when compared to his counterparts such as Alan Roden and Myles Straw, who have exploded out of the gate. Shreck has gone just 2-for-10 through five games this spring. The 24-year-old outfielder has his work cut out for him, but a hot streak over the next week or two could help him earn a longer look in camp.

RHP Yariel Rodríguez 

After coming off a decent campaign in his first MLB season with the Jays, Rodríguez seems destined to be a major part of the Jays’ pitching staff for 2025.

But even with that, the 27-year-old right-hander has been disappointing so far this spring. He's allowed six earned runs and three innings of work. He has a 3.00 WHIP, and has allowed five hits and walked four while striking out just three. The most worrisome part of his struggles has been his lack of command, which was something that popped up from time to time last year.

While Rodríguez is getting streched out as a starter, he's likely begin the season as part of the Jays relief corps thanks to the evolution of Bowden Francis and the addition of Max Scherzer.

However, with bullpen hopefuls such as Braydon Fisher, Zach Pop, Anders Tolhurst and even darkhorse Mason Fluharty off to solid starts this spring, Rodríguez will need to prove that he can be more consistent with his command and control going forward. Otherwise, his competition could continue to put some added pressure on his shoulders to produce.

INF Leo Jiménez 

After having a solid debut for the Jays in 2024, Jiménez is one of the candidates for a backup infield spot for the Jays in 2025. With the ability to play multiple positions in the infield, Jiménez would be the perfect reserve player to have on the bench to use in late innings while also getting the occasional start.

However, things haven’t gotten off on the right foot for the 23-year-old infielder, as he's gone 0-for-7 with two strikeouts so far this spring. If Jiménez wants a leg up in stealing one of the final roster spots heading into Opening Day, he'll need to pick up his game soon.