Blue Jays Opening Day roster, lineups, rotation & bullpen

Toronto Blue Jays baseball is finally. Sure, it’s technically been back for about a month because of spring training, but now it’s back for real. Every pitch, inning and hit counts, and it’ll all mean something on Toronto’s quest toward an American League Central crown. 

That quest toward a crown begins today with the Blue Jays’ Opening Day matchup against the Baltimore Orioles. Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s Opening Day. 

Toronto Blue Jays Opening Day roster

The Blue Jays finalized their roster over the weekend. Here’s how it looks. 

Catcher (2): Alejandro Kirk, Tyler Heineman

Kirk is Toronto’s clear No. 1 catcher and proved that by inking him to a five-year extension over the weekend. He’s a former Silver Slugger who hit the ball hard during spring, so he’ll be behind the plate more often than not. 

Heineman won the backup catcher job after beating out Christian Bethancourt in spring training. He’s on his third tenure with the Blue Jays but has only hit one home run in his MLB career. He’s a serviceable backup, but nothing more.

Infielders (6): Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Andrés Giménez, Bo Bichette, Ernie Clement, Davis Schneider, Will Wagner 

Lots of familiar faces here outside of Giménez, who came over from the Guardians in an offseason trade. Giménez hit .283 with two home runs in the spring and plays Platinum Glove defense at the keystone.

He’ll likely be at the top of the lineup with Guerrero and Bichette, who are both entering their walk years. Bichette will be looking to put last year’s bad season behind him, while Guerrero will be looking to grow on his strong performance last year as he seeks a record contract.

Clement also had a strong spring, and should man third base for most of the season after being a Gold Glove finalist last season.

Wagner and Schneider are breaking camp as the team’s backup options. Wagner can move all around the infield, while Schneider can play second base and left field.

Outfield (5): George Springer, Anthony Santander, Alan Roden, Myles Straw, Nathan Lukes

Santander comes to Toronto after signing a huge five-year, $92.5 million contract in the offseason, and he’ll get a majority of reps in right field. That will bump Springer over to left field, a position he’s barely played in MLB.

Santander’s coming off a season where he slugged 44 home runs, while Springer will look to stop the decline he’s been going through in the past couple seasons. 

Schneider could see some time in left field as well.

With Daulton Varsho starting the season on the injured list, center field will be handled by the combination of Roden, Straw and Lukes. 

Roden is a fast-rising prospect who was one of the big winners of the spring, while Straw will break camp with Toronto after coming over from Cleveland in a trade that included international bonus pool money. 

Lukes will also be an option in center after another strong spring, though this outfield picture could look very different in a month.

Blue Jays Opening Day lineup

• 1. SS Bo Bichette
• 2. 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
• 3. LF Anthony Stander
• 4. 2B Andrés Giménez
• 5. C Alejandro Kirk
• 6. CF George Springer
• 7. DH Will Wagner
• 8. 3B Ernie Clement
• 9. RF Alan Roden

There's a couple surprises in this lineup, with the biggest ones being Springer in center field, Wagner at designted hitter and Roden in right field. Springer was projected to spend some time in the corner outfield spots, but he'll get the Opening Day nod in center while Roden will get the start in right field.

Blue Jays Opening Day starting rotation

José Berríos, Kevin Gausman, Max Scherzer, Chris Bassitt, Bowden Francis

The Blue Jays starting rotation features four veterans and Francis. Berríos will get the nod on Opening Day while Guasman will start the second game of the season. 

Here’s how the pitching rotation shakes out for the start of the season. 

• Thursday, March 27: José Berríos vs. Zach Eflin
• Friday, March 28: Kevin Guasman vs. Charlie Morton
• Saturday, March 29: Max Scherzer vs. TBD
• Sunday, March 30: Chris Bassitt vs. TBD
• Monday, March 31: Bowden Francis vs. TBD

Toronto Blue Jays Opening Day bullpen

Jeff Hoffman, Yimi García, Chad Green, Nick Sandlin, Brendon Little, Yariel Rodríguez, Jacob Barnes, Richard Lovelady

Hoffman, Green and García will get most of the high-leverage opportunities, while Sandlin, Little and Rodríguez will get the middle-leverage situations. Rodríguez could also emerge as an option in the starting rotation if someone gets hurt, but for now he’ll open the season as a option in the bullpen.

Little and Lovelady are the two left-handed options on the bullpen, so they’ll get plenty of opportunities to go against lefty hitters. Lovelady and Barnes nabbed the last two spots in the bullpen over Ryan Yarbrough. 

Toronto Blue Jays Opening Day injured list

RHP Erik Swanson, RHP Zach Pop, RHP Ryan Burr, RHP Alek Manoah, RHP Angel Bastardo, OF Daulton Varsho, RHP Adam Macko

Swanson, Pop and Burr will start the year on the injured list, which is why Toronto had to dip into its bullpen depth for Opening Day. Swanson is the closest to returning, but it’ll still be a bit before we see him with the Blue Jays.

Varsho mashed four home runs in spring training but will begin the season on the injured list while he still works his way back from offseason surgery. He could be back in April as well. 

Manoah and Bastardo are already on the 60-day injured list as they work their way back from Tommy John surgery, while Macko will be out for the foreseeable future after tearing a meniscus in his left knee.