8 Blue Jays players who won't be back in 2025

Spencer Horwitz

There are not enough words to properly describe how important 2024 was for Horwitz. Not only did he emerge as one of the best rookies in baseball, but he also picked up a new position on the fly and turned himself into one hell of a trade chip in the process.

Horwitz gained a ton of popularity amongst Blue Jays fans this year as he possesses a unique ability to get on base all. the. time. He is a walk machine, he has strong gap power and can muscle one over the fence with semi-regularity as well. He hit 12 home runs with 19 doubles, 40 RBI and a 125 OPS+ through 97 games this year. That'll play.

Since Guerrero is the long-term figure at first base, Horwitz will be stuck playing second base or DH'ing moving forward. Ask anyone who has watched him play second base at the big league level, he's not cut out to play there full-time. That's not meant to disrespect Horwitz, who played the position at a perfectly decent clip, but he pales in comparison to nearly every other second base-capable option in the organization.

As of right now, it feels like one of Will Wagner or Orelvis Martinez breaks camp in 2025 as the starting second baseman. Horwitz's defensively limited profile and strong bat make him an above-average trade chip, and that aforementioned podcast of Arden Zwelling predicted he'd be flipped to the Oakland A's for Brent Rooker this offseason. Sign us up.