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Breaking down the Blue Jays' Opening Day roster

Henry Palattella
Henry Palattella

Jays Journal

Mar 23, 2025; Dunedin, Florida, USA; Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Springer celebrates after making a play against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the third inning during spring training at TD Ballpark. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

On Sunday, the Blue Jays played in their final game of this year's spring training slate.

The next time they take the field, all the pitches, innings and games will mean something in regard to the team's quest toward the postseason and World Series.

Here's what you need to know about all the reported roster moves and cuts that were done ahead of Opening Day.

Breaking down all the Blue Jays Opening Day roster moves so far

Tyler Heineman is the backup catcher... for now

Tyler Heineman
Feb 26, 2025: Toronto Blue Jays catcher Tyler Heineman (55) runs to third base against the Philadelphia Phillies in the fourth inning during spring training at TD Ballpark. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

After spending the entire offseason as the second catcher on Toronto's 40-man roster, manager John Schneider announced that Heineman would break camp as the Blue Jays' backup catcher.

Heineman was in a competition with Christian Bethancourt all camp, but Heineman always seem to have a leg up due to his presence on the 40-man roster and lack of options.

Alejandro Kirk is the full-time catcher (as evidenced by his contract extension), but Heineman should still see some playing time.

That said, he's only played in 34 career games with Toronto across his three stints with Toronto, so this could be a position to the Blue Jays look to upgrade later in the year.

Will Wagner won the backup infielder battle

Will Wagner
Mar 20, 2025: Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Will Wagner (7) doubles against the Tampa Bay Rays in the second inning during spring training at TD Ballpark. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

As of now, Will Wagner is breaking camp as the backup infielder, while Addison Barger will start the season in Triple-A.

Wagner slashed .305/.337/.451 with two home runs and six doubles in 24 MLB games last year before going down with a knee injury. He hit .256 with four RBI and four walks in the spring and can play first and third base, which should help manager John Schneider figure out a way to keep his bat in the lineup.

Schneider told reporters that it seemed like the only way to keep Barger on the roster would be as a backup outfielder, and that such a role would go against the team's plans to have Barger play everyday.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Andrés Giménez, Bo Bichette and Ernie Clement are set to play everyday across the infield, while Wagner and Davis Schneider will serve as the backup options. All of the starting infielders are healthy, so they should see plenty of time.

The outfield picture will likely look a lot different in a month

Varsho - Springer
Mar 13, 2025: Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho (5) celebrates with outfielder George Springer (4) after hitting a two run home run against the Baltimore Orioles in the fifth inning during spring training at TD Ballpark. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Blue Jays are testing their organizational depth right off the rip thanks to Daulton Varsho starting the season on the injured list.

While Varsho can swing (he hit four home runs in spring training), he still can't play in the outfield. He'll start the season rehabbing in Florida before heading out on a minor league stint.

In the meantime, centerfield will be handled by Alan Roden, Myles Straw and Nathan Lukes. Roden (the Blue Jays' No. 4 prospect per MLB Pipeline) had a strong spring and will likely stick on the roster even after Varsho gets back.

Lukes and Straw will likely form a platoon in center behind him. Straw is a former Gold Glove winner who hit .400 in the spring, but he has a career OPS+ of 76. Lukes has always preformed well in the spring, but had fail to do anything in MLB until he had a strong 22 game cameo last year.

The corner outfield spots will be manned by Springer and Santander, who could swap between right and left field along with designated hitter. Santander was the key signing of the offseason and is a part of the team's core, while Springer is trying to recapture his old form as he works through the last years of his contract.

Davis Schneiderd should also see some time in the corners.

The starting rotation is what we expected

Max Scherzer
Mar 2, 2025: Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer (31) leaves the game against the Philadelphia Phillies in the fourth inning during spring training at TD Ballpark. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

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

Nick Sandlin
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.

Henry Palattella

Henry Palattella

Henry Palattella is the Site Expert at Away Back Gone. He's a writer and editor based in Cleveland, Ohio, and his work has appeared in MLB.com, Forbes Betting and Cleveland Magazine, among others. When he's not watching baseball, he can be found playing tennis, golfing or hanging out with his fiancée and cat.