5 biggest surprises on the Blue Jays Opening Day roster

Following Sunday’s spring training finale, the Toronto Blue Jays finalized their roster for Opening Day. For fringe players like Davis Schneider, Alan Roden and Myles Straw, their hard work throughout the spring resulted in a roster spot.

While that finalization of the roster means that Blue Jays Opening Day is nearly here, it also means that we have plenty of questions about what the decisions mean for the future of the team. Here, we will take a look at a few surprises from the Opening Day roster that could make or break the Blue Jays season.

5 biggest surprises on the Blue Jays Opening Day roster

Tyler Heineman winning the battle for backup catcher

Heineman entered 2025 as the lone catcher on the 40-man roster behind Alejandro Kirk, so many believed that the backup spot was his to lose — especially since he doesn't have any minor league options But then Toronto added veteran Christian Bethancourt into the mix in January to gave Heineman some competition.

Both players failed to take full advantage of their opportunities this spring, with Heineman compiling a .227 average in 11 games played while Bethancourt hit .200 in nine games. Heineman won the roster battle and will break camp with the Blue Jays, but was it the right decision?

While Kirk will still get the bulk of the starts, his backup will still likely see around 50 to 60 games of action. Having a backup who is adept on both the offense and defense end could be a difference maker for the Blue Jays.

As a result, it would make more sense to have Bethancourt, who has put up double-digit home runs and 30+ RBI in two of his past three seasons, instead of Heineman, who has a grand total of one home run and 15 RBI over his five-year MLB career to date.

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.

The final bullpen spots

Entering camp, it looked like Tommy Nance (who is out of options) and Ryan Yarbrough (who was a stud last season with the Jays) were the favorites for the final two sports in the Jays' bullpen. Instead, those sports went to Richard Lovelady and Jacob Barnes, which came as a total surprise.

After all, Lovelady had a less-than-stellar spring with Toronto with a 6.48 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in 8 1/3 innings. Barnes didn't fare much better with a 6.75 ERA in 5 1/3 innings. Those are numbers that normally get you sent to the minors.

Perhaps the Jays based their decision on something deeper than the spring numbers like MLB track records. But if that was the case, Yarbrough still should have earned a spot. Not only did he excel for the Jays down the stretch in 2024, he is also a proven, effective commodity in his seven years in the big leagues.

We got a first-hand look at Yarbrough's value when the New York Yankees scooped him up less than 24 hours after he left the Jays. Here's hoping that baffling decision doesn't come back to bite them.

The amount of outfielders

With Roden, Straw and Nathan Lukes all surviving final roster cuts, the Blue Jays are opening the season with six outfield options as their disposal heading into the 2025 season. And that doesn’t even include Daulton Varsho, who will start the year on the IL.

Anthony Santander and George Springer will likely get the bulk of their starts in the corner outfield spots, which leaves Roden, Straw and Lukes to rotate through centerfield. Schneider can also play some left field along with second base.

Yes, all four of those players have had solid springs and probably deserve their spots on the roster, but is it worth it to have so many outfielders on the roster? Lukes' production was a step behind everyone else's this spring, so would it have made more sense for them to use that spot for someone else?

Barger could have been on the roster as the super utilityman or Toronto could have elected to use it to select Bethancourt's contract to continue the battle for the backup catcher spot.

Not only will this current roster setup deprive someone of valuable playing time, but it will also limit the amount of player evaluation opportunities for the front office.