4 Blue Jays players who have no business being on the 2023 playoff roster

The Toronto Blue Jays have had their ups and downs throughout the 2023 season, whether it was their pitching, defence, or hitting. However, the boys in blue fought through all the tough times together and played their heart out as a tight-knit group, win or lose, despite all the pressure and criticism along the way. Well, all of their hard work and determination has finally paid off as with the Seattle Mariners’ loss to the Texas Rangers on Saturday night, the Blue Jays have finally clinched a postseason berth for the second consecutive season. Their focus will now turn towards getting everyone healthy and ready as they prepare to hit the road for the Wild Card playoff series in the coming week, whether it will be the Tampa Bay Rays or the Minnesota Twins.

Every Blue Jays player in one way or another had made valuable contributions to the ballclub in helping them to their success this year, and ultimately achieving their goal in making the playoffs once again. However, with the roster size being shrunk back down to 26 heading into the playoff rounds, there will be a fair number of Blue Jays that will unfortunately be left off the postseason roster despite their important contributions during the 2023 season.

Here, we take a look at four Blue Jays players, like it or not, that probably has no business being on the 2023 playoff roster when the team finalizes the names for Tuesday. There is still an outside chance that one could still see action due to injuries or by their sudden inclusion into the lineup in a future round if the team makes it there. But in the case for these four players, even if such a situation does arise, it’s highly likely that someone else higher up in the pecking order will be selected first.

Nate Pearson

For the former first round pick from the 2017 MLB Draft, this was suppose to be the year that Nate Pearson finally breaks out and flourishes at the major league level. After running into a string of injury woes the previous years, Pearson finally had a clean bill of health heading into the 2023 season and was strong as ever. Initially, he began the year in Buffalo to start the season, but he was later summoned to the big club near the end of April.

After being called up, Pearson displayed the type of dominance that many had expected from him all these years, as in his first 17 appearances, he posted a stellar 4-0 record with a 1.96 ERA, .193 opponents batting average, 0.913 WHIP, giving up only five earned runs, five walks and 26 strikeouts in just 23 innings pitched. It appeared as though Pearson’s time has finally arrived.

However, his season would suddenly take a 180 degree turn for the worse as in his next 16 appearances, he completely fell apart with a 9.53 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, giving up 18 earned runs and 11 walks in just 17 innings of work. Consequently, he was optioned back down to the minors once again, with all the hope and promise disappearing in a flash. With a plethora of more reliable arms available in Jay Jackson and Bowden Francis, added to his unfortunate monumental slide midway through the season, Pearson has most likely been pushed out of the conversation completely in terms of getting a spot on the Jays’ playoff roster.

Spencer Horwitz

It has been a spectacular year for Jays’ prospect Spencer Horwitz in 2023. Down in the minors with the Buffalo Bisons, Horwitz put together a tremendous season that saw him hit a stunning .337 with a .945 OPS, along with 61 runs scored, 30 doubles, 10 home runs, 72 RBI, nine stolen bases, 78 walks and 72 strikeouts in just 107 games played. In doing so, he captured the International League Player of the Week award back in July, along with the Bisons’ team Stan Barron MVP award for the 2023 season.

He was so impressive that he earned a callup twice this year to the big league club to show off his abilities. In his 15 games with the Jays, Horwitz hit a respectable .256 with a .726 OPS, 103 OPS+, five runs scored, one home run and seven RBI. In particular, he served as a solid fill-in for Brandon Belt while he was on the 10-day injured list due to back spasms in September.

Despite his amazing season in the minors and his solid contributions to the Jays ballclub during his limited time in the majors, Horwitz will not likely be a part of the Jays’ postseason run this year. This is mostly due in part that the main position (first base) and role (designated hitter) that he plays is taken up by two advanced players ahead of him in Brandon Belt and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Nevertheless, the Jays certainly appreciated his production whenever he played for them this year and that certainly bodes well for his potential future with the ballclub.

Cam Eden

One intriguing candidate that could create a dilemma for the Jays is their recent promotion of rookie Cam Eden. After all, he had set the Buffalo Bisons modern day stolen base record with 53 this season in 57 attempts. His speed on the basepaths is unmatched by any of what the Jays currently have on their big league roster. Added to the fact that Eden is also strong defensively, it makes him an ideal late-game pinch runner or defensive replacement in tight playoff games.

At the same time, the Jays have only seen him in limited action since being called up. How Eden can perform on the biggest stage during the playoffs has yet to be seen. But even as of now, he has only appeared in three MLB games in total for the Jays, with each appearance in the game as a pinch runner. When you have that kind of uncertainty in terms of what value the player can provide in a higher intensity and stressful playoff game, it is certainly a big gamble to take.

The high-risk, high reward potential is there, as the difference in scoring that extra run or preventing one in the playoffs could be the difference between winning and losing. However, despite the elite speed and defensive potential being there, it is most likely that the Jays resort to a more concrete, safer option heading into the playoffs. After all, for every Dalton Pompey (swiping bases with ease in helping the Jays in their 2015 postseason run), there always could be a Kolten Wong (costing the St. Louis Cardinals a World Series game by being picked off at the end of the game for being overaggressive). Eden will definitely be a potent speed weapon going forward, but he will probably have to wait just a little longer for his chance to shine.