3 important Blue Jays to watch in Spring Training

After a Blue Jays offseason that included a free agent deep freeze followed by a whirlwind of headlines, Toronto's Spring Training slate started today with their opener against the Yankees. And even though Spring Training games don’t count, they provide team evaluators (and us) plenty of opportunities to take stock of how everyone looks ahead of Opening Day. 

Spring Training also holds different meanings for different players. For minor league players, it can be a way to make an impression and earn a chance to be the first call-up, if not break camp with the team. For bonafide MLB players, it’s an avenue to get back into the rhythm of playing every day. 

Here are three players that we think will dominate the Spring Training headlines.

Andrés Giménez

It feels weird to think that the the centerpiece of a marquee offseason needs any more attention, but Giménez feels like a bit of an unproven commodity when it comes to his standing with the Blue Jays.

He’s a wizard in the field (he’s won three Gold Gloves and one Platinum Glove), but is coming off a season where he had an OPS+ of just 82 — his second straight season finishing with an OPS+ under 100. 

But things aren’t as bad once you take a look under the hood. Giménez had an expected batting average of .262 last year (74th percentile) so he was a bit of a victim of bad luck and he also posted a strikeout rate of just 15.3 percent. 

Giménez will be a mainstay at the top of John Schneider’s lineup during the regular season, but we’re expecting him to make the most of whatever chances he gets during the spring as well.