Blue Jays 40-man roster crunch gives Ross Atkins plenty of offseason work to do

Over the course of the offseason, the Toronto Blue Jays are expected to make several additions and subtractions to their 40-man roster. Additions to the 40-man can be made in various ways: activating players from the 60-day injured list, adding players through free agency or trade, protecting players from the Rule 5 draft, or selecting a player in the Rule 5 draft.

Subtractions can come via, player's whose contracts expired and they hit free agency, trading away a player that was on the 40-man roster, or being designated for assignment.

For the Blue Jays, they have a lot of decisions to make with their 40-man roster this offseason.

Players who will be activated from the 60-day IL

José Berríos, Jake Bloss, Cody Ponce, and Addison Barger are all guys who will be activated from the IL and are likely to be kept around when spring training begins.

Berríos underwent Tommy John surgery in May and will most likely be sidelined through the first half of the 2027 season. Berríos has a player option for 2-years, $48 million after this season which he will for sure exercise his option on.

Bloss underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2025, and after making a return this season, he appeared in 11 games before a teres major strain in July sidelined him for the rest of the season. He will make up the lost time in the Arizona Fall League.

Ponce sprained his right ACL in his Blue Jays debut against the Rockies in March. He would undergo surgery, essentially ruling him out for the rest of the season. Controllable for two more seasons, Ponce will help fortify a Blue Jays rotation that was decimated by injuries.

Barger missed all but nine games this season after ankle injuries cost him over a month. He would return to play one game before an elbow injury sidelined him for the rest of the season. Young and cost-controlled, Barger will stay on the 40-man upon activation.

Protecting from the Rule 5 draft

Nolan Perry, Gage Stanifer, and Daniel Guerra are the most certain players to be added to the 40-man roster.

Perry, who enjoyed a breakout season coming back from Tommy John surgery will definitely be added to the 40-man roster. Regardless if there is a lockout or not, expect Perry to be up in Toronto in the near future, perhaps as soon as 2027.

Though Stanifer wasn't able to fully capitalize on his momentum from 2025, he still showed there's a lot to like. Stanifer strikes out hitters at an elite rate though his upside will hinge on if he can reign in the walks. Stanifer recently made it to Triple-A, and if he isn't added to the 40-man roster it could be a big mistake as another team would likely scoop him up.

Guerra was a Northwest League All-Star pitched at five levels this season (he appeared in the FCL and Low-A for rehab purposes), making it all the way to Triple-A in August. Guerra put himself on the map this past season and the Blue Jays are likely not the only team to have noticed.

The Blue Jays currently have nine guys on the 60-day IL and potentially those three prospects to add to the 40-man roster. With the 40-man roster already full, cuts will be needed to add all these players back, which means some players are at risk of losing their spot.

These Blue Jays players are at risk of losing their 40-man roster spot

Free agents

George Springer, Jameson Taillon, Shane Bieber, Yimi García, Max Scherzer, Paul Sewald, Patrick Corbin, and Luis Urías are all set to become unrestricted free agents at the end of season. If all of them do not return to the Blue Jays for 2027, that creates eight spots on the 40-man roster.

DFA candidates

Jonathan Clase, Rudy Martin Jr., CJ Van Eyk, Shawn Ross, and Brendan Cellucci are all candidates to be removed from the 40-man roster.

Acquired from the Mariners in the Yimi García trade in 2024, Clase will be out of options in 2027. He underperformed at Triple-A when he was healthy and is currently out with plantar fasciitis. With the emergence of Brett Bateman, and the eventual return of Barger, there is little room for Clase and is an obvious candidate to be removed.

Martin Jr. is a feel-good story. After a 12-year journey in which he played in the minors for the Royals and Nationals, before moving on to independent ball and a stint in Mexico, Martin was finally called up in September with the Blue Jays. Although he is a feel-good story, career Minor leaguers have short shelf lives on 40-man rosters, making him a candidate.

Van Eyk was drafted in the second round of the 2020 MLB Draft. Van Eyk made his debut in 2021, but needed Tommy John surgery and missed all of 2022. He looked good in 2023, but hasn't been as good since. He was promoted to the Majors in July this season and has shuttled between the Majors and Triple-A. With how he has performed this season, he would be considered a DFA candidate.

Ross was claimed by the Blue Jays after the Mets designated him for assignment. He made his debut this season with the Pirates and hit his first career home run. Given Ross' hitting profile (penchant for striking out), he primarily serves as emergency catching depth at Triple-A and is a candidate to hit the wire.

After spending six seasons in the Red Sox system and released in July 2025, Cellucci signed a minor league contract with the Blue Jays heading into this season. He looked much better at Triple-A with the Blue Jays and earned a promotion in September. Given how he has performed this season, he is not an immediate candidate and one the Blue Jays should try to keep around, though it would not be a surprise.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow