3 Blue Jays players who could see a larger role in 2025, 2 who should not

Although the Toronto Blue Jays may have had a disappointing 2024 MLB season, it ultimately gave them the unique opportunity to witness the rise of some promising players from their roster. With the valuable contributions and overall impact that they provided to the team over the course of the season, they sincerely hope it would pave way for a more secured role with the club heading into the 2025 season. But of course, with only a limited number of spots available, not all will be able to achieve that job security.

As a result, we will take a closer look at 3 Blue Jays players who could see an increased role next year and 2 other Blue Jays players that won’t likely to see that happening.

3 Blue Jays who could see a larger role heading into 2025

Brendon Little

For Brendon Little, what appeared to be just a pitching depth acquisition during the past offseason has turned out paying huge dividends for the Jays in 2024. Acquired from the Chicago Cubs back in November of 2023, Little struggled in his first call-up to the majors in late-April, but became a main fixture in the Jays’ bullpen following his second one in early June.

He has been perhaps one of the most reliable relief arms on the team this season outside of Yimi García and Génesis Cabrera. In 45 appearances, Little has posted a 1–2 record including one save and 6 holds, along with a solid 3.64 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 33 strikeouts in 42 innings pitched. With the departure of veteran Tim Mayza when he was designated for assignment at the end of June, Little risen to become one of the key lefties out of the Jays’ bullpen alongside Cabrera.

With no lefty pitching prospect in the role of a reliever coming up from their minor league system any time soon, Little could in fact be a key piece in the Jays’ relief corps for 2025. That holds true even if the Jays become active buyers in the free agent market for relievers this upcoming offseason, as their bullpen will have plenty of holes that needs to be filled.

Ernie Clement

After struggling in his earlier stints in the majors with the Cleveland Guardians and Oakland Athletics, Ernie Clement has taken off with the opportunities that the Jays have presented to him. Clement had already gave a brief glimpse of his potential last season with the Jays when he posted a stellar .380 average, .885 OPS with 7 runs scored, 1 home run and 10 RBI while striking out only four times in 50 total at-bats.

Clement continued that success this year in training camp, as he ultimately secured himself a spot on the Jays’ 26-man roster heading into the season. After playing mainly in a part-time role during the first half of 2024, Clement was elevated to mostly starter status since the turn of the month in July. Most importantly, he has performed admirably in whatever role was given to him.

On the year, Clement has compiled a solid .261 average, .692 OPS, along with 46 runs scored, 11 home runs, 48 RBI and 11 stolen bases in 398 at-bats over 129 games played. With also a keen eye at the plate, he has only struck out a grand total of 37 times this season for a less than 10% strikeout rate. On top of that, he has put his elite infield defense on full display, registering an impressive 17 DRS and a solid .964 fielding percentage in the process.

Barring any major moves by the Jays this offseason, Clement would appear to be the front runner for the everyday job at third base for 2025. If he could actually improve just a bit more on his power and offensive production, ladies and gentlemen, we could be staring at Matt Chapman 2.0 but with way better plate discipline.

Will Wagner

Will Wagner has been a pleasant surprise since becoming a part of the Jays’ organization following the trade deadline. After lighting it up in his brief stint with the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bisons, he received a well-earned promotion to the big league club on August 12 and has not looked back.

Everyone knew Wagner was already a keeper when he went 3-for-3 in his dazzling major league debut against the Los Angeles Angels. In doing so, he became the fourth Jays player ever to register three hits in their first ever MLB game. Just a few weeks later, he would make it into the Jays’ record books once again when he became the first rookie in franchise history to register five hits in a single game.

In total, Wagner has posted a strong .305 batting average, .788 OPS, 123 OPS+, 8 runs scored, 6 doubles, 2 home runs and 11 RBI in 24 games played. More importantly, he has shown that he could confidently handle major league pitching, especially when he was able to make the proper adjustments to get out of some mini-slumps at the plate. With respect to his defense, Wagner has also been solid in that regard, committing only one error in over 83 total chances in 21 games at second base.

He may be out for the rest of the season now due to left knee inflammation, but his impressive audition has put himself firmly in the running for a potential starting role at second base with the Jays for the 2025 season.

Addison Barger

Current Jays Journal No. 5 prospect Addison Barger had been a highly-touted prospect in the Jays’ farm system over the past couple of seasons. Constantly ranked among the top 10 prospects within the organization across the industry, Barger finally got his chance to shine at the highest level with the big league club this year.

His first and second stints with the Jays earlier this season for the most part was worth forgetting. But the third time up appeared to be a charm for Barger, as he has managed to stick with the big league club and has performed a lot more respectably in the process. Since July 25, he has compiled a .239 batting average, .767 OPS, along with 14 runs scored, 8 doubles, 7 home runs and 23 RBI in 37 games played entering Wednesday.

More significantly, Barger has shown that he could be versatile piece by making starts in both the infield and outfield positions. However, he has struggled mightily at third base, committing a whopping 6 errors in just 60 chances for a fielding percentage of .900. He has been a lot more steady though in the outfield, recording 3 outfield assists along with a .982 fielding percentage.

With Barger up against numerous internal candidates to fill potentially the third base or left field position for 2025, he hasn’t shown enough yet to the Jays’ brass to convince them that he could be a starter going forward. As a result, Barger will likely either be a platoon or fourth outfielder, backup infielder or perhaps even begin 2025 back in the minors. That is because from his defensive numbers above, he would definitely need more seasoning if the Jays indeed see him as a future infielder, in particular at third base.