Blue Jays make surprising roster decisions ahead of Game 1 of the World Series

It's finally game day in the city of Toronto and Game 1 of the 2025 World Series is upon us. With championship aspirations now just four wins away, the Blue Jays are ready for the Fall Classic, and that was indicated with their roster release.

Friday morning, the Toronto Blue Jays announced their World Series roster for their upcoming tilt against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In a surprising twist for the 26-man lineup, the Blue Jays elected to have 12 pitchers this time and 14 position players.

Now that the roster is set, here are the most surprising moves the Blue Jays made for the World Series.

Yariel Rodriguez out, Brendon Little in

The Blue Jays' ALDS and ALCS roster featured 13 pitchers. One of those pitchers was Yariel Rodriguez, who didn't have the best of postseasons and hasn't been on the mound since Game 3 of the ALCS against the Seattle Mariners.

Rodriguez posted a 10.13 ERA, allowing two home runs and three earned runs in 2.2 innings. While that small sample size is enough to warrant an exclusion from the World Series, the bigger picture says otherwise. In the regular season, Yariel posted a 3.08 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 73.0 innings pitched.

Then there's the addition of Brendon Little, who may still draw the ire of Blue Jays fans after his Game 5 collapse in the ALCS, which gave the Mariners a 3-2 series lead. A 12.00 ERA with four earned runs in 3.0 innings was alarming for Little. However, he joins Mason Fluharty and Eric Lauer as the only lefty options out of the pen. The Dodgers are hitting .244 against left-handers this postseason with an OPS of .695.

While Little shouldn't be used in a high-leverage situation again, expect manager John Schnider to continue his love of situational pitching.

Bichette's uncertainty, Ty France in

Welcome back, Bo Bichette. For the first time in six weeks, Bichette will see playing time, and it couldn't come any sooner. That said, the concern about where Bichette plays remain significant after the grueling knee injury he sustained against the Yankees back in early September.

During Thursday afternoon's workout ahead of Friday's game, Bichette was seen taking drills at second base, a position he's never played in the big leagues. Whether he's strictly a designated hitter, second baseman, or back at shortstop, there will need to be shuffles with your lineup to accommodate him.

The Blue Jays have added more infielders than outfielders this time around, and that includes the surprising addition of Ty France. Acquired at the trade deadline earlier this year, France wasn't on the ALDS or ALCS rosters. Despite a hot August, batting .303 with an OPS of .789 and 20 hits, September would be a regression. He would only bat .207 with six hits and saw his playing time drop.

While France's addition may be used for matchups, it comes at the cost of removing Joey Loperfido. Shrinking the outfield could be a difference-maker, especially with the uncertainty around George Springer returning to the outfield with Bo's return to the lineup. Should Bo DH, that will most likely force Springer to return to the outfield, leaving limited outfield replacements to accommodate France.

Game 1 of the 2025 World Series goes down Friday night with first pitch at 8:08 pm EST.