4 Blue Jays players in danger of losing their roster spot after Justin Turner signing

Spencer Horwitz

Another player who made his MLB debut with the Blue Jays last year, Spencer Horwitz spent his brief time in the majors splitting 10 starts between DH and first base. He pinch-hit in his other five appearances.

The 26-year-old lefty hit .256 and put up a decent .726 OPS in his limited action, with seven RBI and one long ball.

In MLB Pipeline’s last update in 2023, Horwitz was ranked the No. 16 Blue Jays prospect, the highest he has been since being drafted in the 24th round in 2019. None of Horwitz’s tools are going to make him pop in the majors, with his hit tool being the highest-graded at 55 on the 80-grade scale by Pipeline.

He showed off his hit tool and plate discipline in his 107 games in Triple-A in 2023, running an impressive .337/.450/.495 slash line, with 10 home runs, 72 RBI, and nine stolen bases to boot. His 16.1 percent walk rate and 14.9 percent strikeout rate look nice, but don’t forget about the automatic strike zone used in Triple-A, which no doubt aided his already good eye at the dish. In his 44 plate appearances with Toronto, Horwitz ran a 9.1 percent walk rate and struck out 27.3 of the time.

Without knowing the Blue Jays’ plans for the newly-acquired Turner, Horwitz’s spot on the 40-man could be safe. But, if the Jays envision Turner taking over Brandon Belt’s vacated DH/first base role, Horwitz could very well get the bump to non-roster status if the team doesn’t see a need for his services this season.