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2 Blue Jays best taking advantage of 2025 auditions this year, 1 who is struggling
So who may be playing their way in and who may be out for the Blue Jays in the upcoming 2025 season?
As the Toronto Blue Jays look to finish off the final two months of 2024 on a positive note, many may actually be looking ahead already to the 2025 season. For some core players, like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Daulton Varsho, José Berríos and Alejandro Kirk, they have all but secured roster spots already as part of the Jays’ retooling for next year. However, for some others, their performances this season could ultimately have an effect on whether or not they will be in the long-term plans of the club.
Here, we will take a look at two Blue Jays players who have been best taking advantage of their audition for a roster spot in 2025 with the team and one Blue Jays player that has struggled in making that statement.
2 Blue Jays players who have best taken advantage of their 2025 auditions this year
Spencer Horwitz
For Spencer Horwitz, his time to become a mainstay in the big leagues has finally arrived in 2024. After spending years annihilating minor league pitching, Horwitz has taken full advantage of his promotion earlier this season and has ran with it. Since joining the offensively-challenged Jays back in early June amidst the team’s struggles, he has batted a solid .278 with a respectable .784 OPS, along with 24 runs scored, 10 doubles, 5 home runs and 20 RBI in 53 games played. In addition, Horwitz has demonstrated strong plate discipline, walking at about an 11% rate while striking out at just around a 17% clip.
More surprisingly, he has done fairly well with his defense at second base. Keep in mind that it was a position that he had just taken up this year to help give himself an alternate route to the majors. Horwitz had committed only one error in 106 total chances over 276 innings for a .991 fielding percentage. And when playing his usual first base position when Guerrero had the day off, Horwitz had been spotless in over 101.2 innings. Given his ability to hit MLB pitching, along with his positional flexibility to go along with his solid defense, it appears as though Horwitz has built a strong case to be part of the Jays’ core heading into 2025.
Brendon Little
Back at the start of the 2023-24 offseason, one of their very first moves involved the trade for left-handed pitcher Brendon Little from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for cash considerations. But what seemed to be just a depth acquisition at the time is suddenly turning out to be quite the solid pickup made by Jays’ management.
Having appeared in just one game in the majors prior to joining the Jays, the 26-year-old has made the most of his opportunities with his new club this season. With his current 3.90 ERA, believe it or not, Little actually sports the team’s fourth best ERA among relievers in 2024. Overall, Little has complied a 1-1 record with a 1.34 WHIP, along with 24 strikeouts in 27.2 innings pitched over 29 games played. More importantly, he has gotten better and better as the year progressed as in his last 15 appearances, he had posted a solid 2.25 ERA with 9 strikeouts in 12 innings of work.
With the Jays having a huge exodus of bullpen arms at the trade deadline, along with the massive struggles of those than remained not named Chad Green or Génesis Cabrera, the consistent performance by Little has opened the door for him to have a potential increased role with the club for next year. Added to the fact that the Jays’ arms in the minor league system had been decimated by injuries this season, Little should be able to get a legitimate shot in making their 2025 roster when the competition in spring training heats up.
1 Blue Jay who isn’t doing himself any favours in securing a role for 2025
Davis Schneider
The expectations for Davis Schneider was high coming into 2024. After all, he made a huge impression with his scintillating debut with the Jays during the final two months of the season last year. On one hand, he did nothing but mash the ball at the plate by hitting a solid .276 with a 1.008 OPS, 12 doubles, 8 home runs and 20 RBI in just 35 games played. On the other hand, he also showed his versatility in the field by playing solid defense in the outfield and at third base, in addition to his usual spot at second.
However, despite having a huge start to the 2024 season, his offensive regression that subsequently followed has truly dampened what was supposedly his breakout year with the Jays. Looking at the numbers, Schneider has managed to still put up 38 runs scored, 18 doubles, 10 home runs and 37 RBI worth of production on the season. However, the bulk of it had come all within the first two months of the year.
Since the beginning of June, Schneider has practically fallen off a cliff, as he has posted an abysmal .174 batting average, .504 OPS, along with just 13 runs scored, 5 doubles, 3 home runs and 8 RBI over his past 52 games entering Saturday. More worrisome had been the fact that he has appeared overmatched at the plate by opposing pitchers in recent times while striking out at a greater than 30% rate.
Unless Schneider can start making the appropriate adjustments to handle MLB pitching, his current funk isn’t doing him any favours right now and for the future. Forget about securing a starting gig, if he keeps this up, his potential spot on the 26-man roster could be in jeopardy as well. As a result, he will need to bounce back with a big final few weeks of this season to get himself back in the conversation for the 2025 plans with the Jays.