6 Blue Jays whose future with the club hangs in the balance during spring training

As we approach the two-week mark in spring training for the Toronto Blue Jays, the intense battle to secure potential spots on the team is in full flight. But for a fair number of the Blue Jays, there could actually be more at stake than meets the eye as their ultimate role and future with the club could depend on how they perform overall this spring.

As a result, we will take a look at six players who could make or break their careers - at least with the Blue Jays - in the coming weeks.

Nate Pearson

After enduring through several years of setbacks, injuries, and underperformances, former top pitching prospect Nate Pearson appeared to have turned a corner in 2023. Following his call-up to the big league team in late April, the Pearson that everyone had been waiting for had finally arrived. Equipped with confidence and consistency like never before, he pitched to a 1.96 ERA, 0.91 WHIP with 26 strikeouts in 23 innings of work in his first 17 appearances.

However, his magical season quickly turned into a nightmare from mid-June onwards as Pearson completely fell apart, compiling a horrific 8.24 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, giving up 18 earned runs including 4 home runs, 13 walks and 17 strikeouts in just 19.2 innings pitched. Eventually, he was demoted back down to the minors with a couple of brief pop-up stints down the stretch, but failed to make the postseason roster.

Now at age 27, Pearson’s time with the Jays is hanging by the thread, as this could be his last chance to pencil his name into the Jays' long-term bullpen. Unfortunately, things haven’t gotten off to a good start this spring as Pearson has surrendered 4 runs on 5 hits, including a pair of home runs, for a 21.60 ERA and 3.60 WHIP over just 1.2 innings in two appearances. The upcoming weeks will be crucial for him to show the team once again why he was a bonafide former first-round draft pick, and that he deserves a spot on the roster. Otherwise, he may go down as one of the bigger first-round busts in the history of the organization.