3 Blue Jays players the organization has way too much faith in right now

It is often said there's a lack of loyalty in professional sports, including players being traded or not re-signed when their preference is to remain with their current team. On the flip side, there's been plenty of occasions where those same players have left a team in the lurch, when offered a better situation elsewhere. The Blue Jays are no exception to these -- and any other number of similar -- scenarios.

At the same time, there are also numerous times throughout professional sports when an admirable and/or appropriate amount of loyalty has been displayed. However, what about when maybe too much loyalty has been shown towards an individual? Here is a look at three players who the Blue Jays have arguably too much faith in at this moment in time:

Mitch White

Of the three players referenced in this article, Mitch White is the one most akin to being the equivalent of a cat with nine lives. How he is on the Blue Jays' 40-man roster is barely quantifiable.

The actual reason is so that White can't elect for free agency and have the Blue Jays all but lose him for nothing. However, you have to wonder why they would not allow just this, to be done with the headache(s) he has caused during his time in Toronto.

Pure and simple, the 29-year-old has been awful for the Blue Jays in his 20 appearances for them in the Majors, which includes eight starts (all during the 2022 campaign). He has a 0-6 record, while producing a 7.60 ERA and 1.737 WHIP over 55.2 combined innings.

White essentially looked bad from the word go following his arrival from the Dodgers in a August 2022 trade. However, the hope was that offseason and spring training would help get him back on track this past season.

Instead, the seeds were sown for another disappointing campaign, when the righty started the year on the injured list due to elbow inflammation. After rehab assignments in the minors, he subsequently spent more time out due to shoulder fatigue.

Then, when White did finally make his first appearance of the season for the Blue Jays, it was a disaster. He allowed three hits and two earned runs in 1.2 innings, serving as an indicator of how things were going to play out for him in 2023 at the Major League level.

After clearing waivers and being assigned to Buffalo for the remainder of the season, the 2016 second round draft pick at times showed some promise, but ultimately finished his Triple-A campaign with a 1-2 record, 5.50 ERA and 1.563 WHIP in 55.2 innings over 17 appearances (including 12 starts).

Why White is still on the Blue Jays' 40-man roster could also conceivably come down to the front office just trying to save face and hoping he (somehow) works out. Don't forget that they did give up a couple of promising prospects in Nick Frasso and Moises Brito, to acquire him in the first place.

Further, that hope comes from the perception that when the Blue Jays traded for the San Jose, California native, he was actually an enticing addition. Certainly he had shown some glimpses of promise in 38 games for the Dodgers, with a 3.58 ERA, 3.87 FIP and 1.202 WHIP in 105.2 combined innings.

As things stand, White will get (yet) another opportunity to justify the Blue Jays' decision to keep him around. However, even he must be surely running out of lives, in his attempts to stick around in Toronto.

Santiago Espinal

Santiago Espinal is probably the least concerning of the three listed here. However, this does not mean there isn't still plenty of questions surrounding his future in Toronto.

Last season was undoubtedly a tough one for Espinal, as he recorded the lowest batting average of his four years in the Majors. In addition, he produced his worst OBP, slugging percentage, OPS and OPS+ since his rookie season.

The 29-year-old also struggled on defence, no matter where the Blue Jays placed him. He spent playing time at shortstop, as well as second and third base, but was unable to make any position his own.

Not helping Espinal, was that the season before had been a breakout year for him, highlighted by the first All-Star selection of his Major League career. Essentially, this previous success only helped accentuate how poorly he performed overall in 2023.

For many, the Dominican Republic native's positive impact an offence in 2022, was just a continuation of what he had shown a year earlier, but over an extended period of time. This made his poor play last season even more surprising, leading to some suggestion he could be traded during the offseason.

The question is, has Espinal now reached a peak never to be recaptured, or does he still have it in himself to bounce back this coming season? The fact the Blue Jays still have him on their 40-man roster, seems to indicate they believe -- or hope -- the latter to be the case.

In this respect, it is at least worth noting what the right-handed bat showed at the end of last year. As per Jays Journal's Eric Treuden, he compiled a .375 batting average with a 152 wRC+, six doubles, six runs driven in and four runs scored in his last 51 at-bats of the regular season campaign.

Of course, it's one thing to have this type of production over the short-term, but it's another thing to achieve it on a more lengthy basis. If nothing else it does at least offer some hope, albeit there's also the issue of if he can be better once again on defence.

Another reason why the Blue Jays are hoping Espinal can get his act together, comes down to the team-friendly aspect of his contract situation. He will earn $2.75M this coming season, and is not in line to become an unrestricted free agent until after the 2026 campaign has concluded.

Espinal may well never go back to becoming an every day starter, but he still has it within himself to be a valuable bench player for the Blue Jays in 2024. If however, he struggles again like last season, his days in Toronto will likely be numbered.

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