5 Blue Jays position battles to watch this spring

The Toronto Blue Jays spent the offseason addressing their areas of need by adding a bullpen arm and power bat along with shoring up a couple of positions around the diamond.

After all of those changes, here's what FanGraphs is projecting the Blue Jays' Opening Day lineup to look like:

George Springer, RF

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B

Anthony Santander, LF

Bo Bichette, SS

Wil Wagner, DH

Alejandro Kirk, C

Andrés Giménez, 2B

Ernie Clement, 3B

Nathan Lukes, CF

While that lineup is better than the one that the Blue Jays had at the end of the year, that doesn't mean the rest of the 26-man roster is set in stone.

With that in mind, here are the five positions battles to watch during spring training.

Fourth outfielder

The candidates: Nathan Lukes, Joey Loperfido and Myles Straw

With Daulton Varsho likely to start the season on the IL, there's an outfield spot up for grabs.

The 30-year-old Lukes looks to have the inside track after he played well in his September call-up last season. Lukes hit .303/.371/.447 with a solid strikeout rate (9.9%) in 91 plate appearances from August 30 to the end of the season. While he has never hit for power (just 46 home runs in nine seasons in the minors), he can play all three positions.

Before the Santander signing, it looked like Loperfido was going to be Toronto's everyday left fielder, there could still be a spot for him on the Blue Jays roster even with Santander.

He'll need can cut down on his strikeout rate, but it'll tough to overlook his pop (13 home runs with a .933 OPS in Triple-A last year).

While Straw is a Gold Glove winner, he hasn't finished with an OPS+ above 90 since he posted a .271/.349/.348 slash line in 2021. Straw, a non-roster invitee, fits into Toronto's plan to build a “defense-first” team, and could be a right-handed complement to either Lukes or Loperfido.

Third base

The candidates: Will Wagner and Ernie Clement

Will Wagner is listed as the Blue Jays' Opening Day DH by Fangraphs, and that's because he can hit.

In four seasons in the minors, Wagner has produced a .297/.402/.441 slash line which translated to him recording a .788 OPS in 24 games with the Blue Jays last season before he suffered a season-ending knee injury. Wagner should get plenty of reps at third base in spring.

Clement managed the hot corner for the Blue Jays last year and hit .263/.284./.408 in 139 games last season. With Wagner hitting from the left side and Clement from the right, we could see this duo form a true platoon at third base, something we haven’t seen in Toronto since the mid-80’s with the formidable Rance Mulliniks and Garth Iorg, one of the best third base combos in MLB history.    

Backup catcher

The candidates: Tyler Heineman and Christian Bethancourt

Alejandro Kirk has the starting job locked down, but that doesn’t mean there aren't plenty of at-bats available for the backup. The Blue Jays signed Bethancourt to a minor league deal this offseason, while Heineman is on his third tour of duty with Toronto since 2022.

This battle will come down to what the Blue Jays think they will need more of from this position.

If they want a glove-first guy, they’ll chose Heineman. If they want more of a bat-first player, they’ll choose Bethancourt. Both players are in their mid-30’s and its unlikely either will show some kind of untapped potential during the spring.

Opening Day starter

The candidates: Kevin Gausman, José Berríos and Max Scherzer

While Opening Day is only one game out of 162, it's important to put the right guy on the mound so you can start the season on the right foot. Remember in 2015 when Drew Hutchison started Opening Day for Toronto and didn't end up making the postseason roster?

All three pitchers listed above have a legitimate case to get the ball when the season starts.

Gausman's been a workhorse and has never gotten the ball on Opening Day for the Blue Jays. Berríos got the Opening Day start last year, and, if he gets the nod this year, would join Roy Halladay, Dave Stieb, and Jimmy Key as the only Blue Jays with three or more Opening Day starts.

And then there's Scherzer. The future Hall of Famer who will likely only be a Blue Jay for one season, so why not give the 40-year-old the ball on what could be his last Opening Day?

The final two sports in the bullpen

The candidates: Brendon Little, Tommy Nance, Zach Pop and Ryan Burr

The first six spots in the 'pen seem to be locked in with Jeff Hoffman, Chad Green, Yimi Garcia, Erik Swanson, Nick Sandlin and Yariel Rodriguez, leaving two sports for the four players listed above.

All four saw action at the big-league level last year, with Little having the most success (3.74 ERA in 49 games). He likely has the inside track to a spot since he'd be the only left-hander in the 'pen.

That said, the bullpen is always the most volatile part of any roster, so we'll likely end up seeing all four in Toronto at some point this year.