It's time for the Blue Jays to end the experiment on a spring non-roster invitee

Last year, there were very, very few things that Eduardo Escobar did right on a big league field. The switch-hitter, best known for his nine-year peak from 2014-2022, struggled mightily last season to be even close to a league-average run producer.

All told, he hit .226 with a 25 percent strikeout rate in 99 games split between the Mets and the Angels. His OPS+ at year's end was 67, suggesting that he was a whopping 33 percent below league-average at the dish.

Escobar, a 2021 All-Star Game selection, is continuing this troubling trend into spring training this year as well. He is with the Blue Jays as a minor league signing without a guaranteed spot during the regular season. So far, he has made it into six games for the Jays, going 0-for-15 with 8 strikeouts, a walk and a run scored.

Obviously, this is not going to cut it. Before he laid an egg in spring games, there was likely a shot (even if it was an outside one) that the crafty veteran would be able to earn a spot on the Jays' Opening Day roster. He swings the bat from both sides of the plate, offers a bit of positional versatility and at this point is a well-respected veteran in big league clubhouses. But now? Now, it's time for the Jays to cut bait early and let the kids play.

At this point, Escobar is clogging up the roster. He clearly has done more than enough to ensure that he won't make the roster out of camp, so why push off the inevitable? The competition at second/third base for the Jays is tighter than ever, with as many as 10 players all fighting for the same positions. If Escobar is sticking out as the weak link early on, there is zero point in keeping him around.

Elsewhere in camp, Daniel Vogelbach, another prominent minor league signing for the Blue Jays, is doing his part to crack the club's Opening Day roster. The sweet-swinging lefty is drawing walks, finding ways to get on base, and pissing Gerrit Cole off whenever he can. What's not to love? It seems that "Vogey" is doing what he can to make the club, while Escobar is stuck in neutral and is likely heading for an early release in the coming days. It just is not working out.