5 biggest surprises on the Blue Jays Opening Day roster

Will Wagner beating out Addison Barger for the backup infielder spot

One of the Jays' main roster battles throughout spring training was for the backup infielder spot. Wagner entered camp as the favorite for the spot after his exceptional performance down the stretch last year. However Barger added his name to the list with a phenomenal spring training where he posted a .367 average with two doubles, three home runs and six RBI in 30 at-bats.

On the other hand, Wagner struggled in the spring after having a sensational debutwith the Jays in 2024. In 16 spring games, Wagner hit .256 with four RBI. On top of that, Barger can play multiple positions in the infield and outfield, whereas Wagner has only seen action in the infield in his professional career. Nevertheless, Wagner got the nod over Barger for the Opening Day roster.

Max Scherzer starting the season with the Jays despite his thumb issue

When the news about Scherzer's thumb injury was made public last week, many wondered if it would result in Scherzer starting the year on the injured list. Well, apparently he has been given the thumbs up and is slated to start the season with the team following a positive final spring start against the Minnesota Twins last weekend.

Even with the thumb injury Scherzer has looked great this spring, as he's amassed a sparkling 1.38 ERA with 18 strikeouts in just 13 innings.

But even if Scherzer's good to go on Opening Day, he'll likely need to take things a start at a time based on how he recovers. If that's the case, wouldn’t it be better to give Scherzer a brief IL stint to rectify the issue so it doesn’t linger nightmarishly over the course of the year? The Blue Jays are rolling the dice with Scherzer's injury, and should have a backup plan ready.