5 players whose 40-man roster spot is in jeopardy after Yariel Rodriguez signing

To the surprise of us all, the Toronto Blue Jays' front office is alive and well! On Wednesday, the club reportedly came to an agreement with free agent hurler Yariel Rodriguez. According to multiple reports, including one from Carlos Baerga and Francys Romero on X.

Rodriguez, 26, did not make a single professional appearance last year but had a sparkling 1.15 ERA for the Chunichi Dragons the year before. He has experience as both a starter and reliever, but sources tell Jays Journal that he's being brought aboard the Jays as a starting pitcher.

After the club claimed catcher Brian Serven off of waivers from the Cubs, their 40-man roster became full. With Rodriguez being brought into the fold as well, there are now 41 players that need to fill 40 spots. Someone's going to have to lose their handle on a 40-man spot.

There are some rather obvious candidates at the proverbial "bottom of the totem pole" in the Blue Jays' system, so let's take a look at some of the options. We should be finding out in the very near future who is going to be removed from the 40-man in favor of Rodriguez. Either way, it feels like a pitcher is likely going to be removed, as the Jays currently have more arms than bats on the roster.

5 players whose 40-man roster spot is in jeopardy after Yariel Rodriguez signing

LHP Brendon Little

Little, 27, was claimed off of waivers from the - you guessed it - Cubs back in November. At the moment, he is one of just three left-handed relievers (Yusei Kikuchi and Adam Macko are starters) on the 40-man roster, but he's also one of the newest players in the organization.

Little has just one big league appearance under his belt, coming in the form of a two inning-cameo back in the 2022 season. He hit a batter, walked a batter and then allowed three runs to score.

Last year, Little made all 50 of his minor league appearances in Triple-A with the Cubs. His strikeouts dropped two per nine innings and he ultimately finished the year with a 4.05 ERA. The fact that he is an arm with such little big league experience has to suggest that he's going to be near the front of the line for players to be cut.

RHP Zach Pop

The 2023 season began with such promise for Pop. The right-hander followed up a 1.89 ERA campaign in 2022 with a strong showing in spring training, eventually securing a spot on the Opening Day roster. He made a total of 15 appearances early on in the regular season, posting a 6.59 ERA and 66 ERA+ thanks to 11 runs (10 earned) on as many hits in just under 14 innings of work.

A hamstring strain in early May took Pop out of game action for a while, as he did not get activated until July. He was subsequently optioned to Triple-A and didn't resurface again at the game's top level. By the time Pop was ready to be activated, the Blue Jays had put together a strong bullpen and just didn't have a spot to fit him in anymore.

Down in Buffalo, Pop's numbers didn't instill much confidence, which undoubtedly played a part in his lack of a promotion near season's end. In 31 outings, he posted a 5.05 ERA and struggled to get batters out with any real consistency. It felt like he had fallen out of the club's graces by the end of the year, so it wouldn't be shocking to see him DFA'd now that a spot needs opening on the 40-man.

RHP Mitch White

Mitch "I've Got Nine Lives" White was only just recently added (back) to the Blue Jays' 40-man roster. The right-hander came over via trade back in 2022 and has yet to find any sustained success at the big league level. The cost to acquire him from the Dodgers was a pair of prospects in Nick Frasso and Moises Brito, both of whom have taken to their new organization nicely.

White, 29, made 10 relief appearances for the Jays this past season but surrendered 11 runs (10 earned) on 15 hits in under 13 innings of work. His 7.11 ERA was better than the 7.74 he sported the year before, but the numbers have not been all that encouraging. That is, not until he made it to Triple-A Buffalo in 2023.

Let me start by saying that White's 5.19 ERA in Triple-A is not going to jump off the page. If anything, it jumps off the page in a negative way. However, his strikeout numbers shot up and he put together a string of solid starts that were obviously enough for the Jays to add him back to their roster.

Removing White so quickly after adding him to the roster may not be the likeliest outcome, but it's far from impossible. The fact that he can't seem to figure it out in the big leagues could be enough for the Jays to cut bait again, but he, like Parsons, could easily be kept on hand as minor league depth if he can pass through waivers once again.

RHP Trevor Richards

Easily the most accomplished player to be featured on this list, Richards is a long shot to be DFA'd, but again, it's not an impossibility. The right-hander has made 150 appearances for the Blue Jays over the past two-and-a-half years but the results have been a bit mixed.

Last year, the six-year veteran made 56 appearances, three of them coming as an "opener" when the starting pitching depth was getting tight in June. At times, he was a dominant force, but he was not able to maintain this stretch of solid play throughout the entirety of the season.

In 30 first-half appearances last year, Richards posted a 3.02 ERA and allowed hitters to hit just .196 off of him. He was using his electric changeup to fool everyone who came up to bat against him and he looked like he could even make the All-Star Game for the first time in his career. A mid-season injury took him out of play for a bit, and he was a different pitcher when he returned.

In the second half, Richards went from one of the best relievers in the league to one of the worst. In 26 appearances in the second half, he had an 8.04 ERA and opponents hit .274 off of him with an OPS+ of 138. The year so rapidly went from positive to negative that now it's difficult to see the Jays sticking with Richards long-term.

It's worth noting that Richards will be a free agent at the conclusion of the 2024 season. If the Jays cut bait, he'd have to either be traded or released, as he is out of options and possesses the ability to reject an assignment to Triple-A. It's not impossible to see teams try and acquire him if he's DFA'd as he showed such immense promise at the beginning of last year. It just feels like the Rodriguez signing could squeeze him out of a role.