Breaking down the Blue Jays' Opening Day roster

The starting rotation is what we expected

Ho hum, no surprises here.

The Blue Jays will break camp with a starting rotation of José Berríos, Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer and Bowden Francis. This is the rotation we all expected them to break camp with after the team signed Scherzer at the end of January.

There was a bit of uncertainty around the rotation as Scherzer dealt with a thumb injury, but he threw two scoreless innings on Saturday and bounced back well, which is why the team felt comfortable not placing him on the injured list.

If there are any injuries, Jake Bloss or Yariel Rodríguez could be the next men up.

The bullpen has some interesting names

Mar 23, 2025: Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Nick Sandlin (52) throws a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the seventh inning during spring training at TD Ballpark. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The bullpen is another position that's a bit in flux thanks to Erik Swanson, Ryan Burr and Zach Pop starting the season on the injured list.

The front of the bullpen doesn't have any surprises, as Jeff Hoffman, Yimi García and Chad Green will get the majority of high-leverage situations.

Nick Sandlin, Brendon Little and Rodríguez all made the team and will likely exist in the middle-leverage role. Sandlin will be making his Blue Jays debut after coming off in the offseason trade with the Guardians, while Little will hold a valuable role as a left-hander reliever.

Rodríguez has worked as a starter all camp but will now move to the bullpen, where he could serve as the team's swingman option. He excelled as a reliever overseas, and could be an x-factor for the Jays early in the season.

The last two spots in the bullpen were claimed by Jacob Barnes and Richard Lovelady, both of whom weren't on the 40-man roster at the start of camp. Barnes is a veteran of nine MLB seasons will nine franchises and was in camp on a minor league Article XX(b) contract, which gave him an opt-out opportunity.

The team elected to carry him on the roster and not familiar face Ryan Yarbrough, who was also in camp on the same kind of contract.

Lovelady making the roster shouldn't come as a huge surprise, as he was added to the 40-man roster last week. He has MLB experience with the Royals, A's, Cubs and Rays.

Schedule