These position battles will define spring training for the Blue Jays

Spring training is underway, and one of the best parts of the month-long exhibition calendar is monitoring position battles across rosters. And, luckily for Blue Jays fans, Toronto's front office will have to make over the next four weeks after a busy offseason.

Here are the three we're paying the most attention to.

Outfield 

When the Blue Jays made the puzzling trade to acquire Myles Straw last month, it was perceived that, besides giving the franchise a boost in its attempts to sign Roki Sasaki, the veteran could be a stopgap in center field while Daulton Varsho works his way back into game shape after offseason shoulder surgery.

The 30-year-old is an excellent defensive outfielder and won a Gold Glove in 2022 with the Cleveland Guardians, but he’s struggled mightily with the bat in recent seasons. Things got so bad for Straw last year that he spent most of the season in Triple-A despite signing a five-year, $25M contract in 2022.

The former 12th-round draft pick started Sunday’s game in center field, hit a single and displayed some speed in getting to a sharply hit fly ball by David Hamilton in the fifth inning. If the California native can come close to replicating his Guardians debut in 2021, when he slashed .285/.362/.377 over 60 games, he could have the inside track on the fourth outfielder’s job despite being a Non-Roster Invitee.

The players who will push Straw for a spot on the opening-day roster are Davis Schneider, Nathan Lukes, and upstart prospect Alan Roden.

Schneider is hard-pressed to have a strong camp to avoid starting the year in Triple-A Buffalo. He started Saturday’s game in left field and went hitless in two at-bats. Lukes will also have a good chance to make the Opening Day roster after he had a solid 22-game MLB cameo run in 2024. He started in right field on Saturday and went 0-for-1 with a walk.

Roden was singled out by General Manager Ross Atkins as a prospect to watch in a recent press conference and got his spring off to an impressive start with a pair of doubles and a sliding catch on Sunday. He’s not expected to break camp with the team but could be one of the first potential call-ups.

Backup infielder

This position battle got off to a cracking start wbe Orelvis Martinez went deep in his spring training plate appearance. We have seen the 23-year-old’s massive power on display before, and while it remains his calling card, he'll need to improve his defense at second and third base to get to the show.

Leo Jimenez could be part of the infield solution following last season’s 63-game debut. He showed off better-than-expected gap power, and some slick field at second base and shortstop. The 23-year-old started Sunday’s game at shortstop and went hitless in three at-bats with two strikeouts. His ability to be a traditional backup infielder could be his ticket to cracking the roster. 

Addison Barger showed flashes of brilliance in his first big-league action last year and displayed considerable power (seven homers, 11 doubles) in a limited sample size of 204 ABs. Barger started at third base on Sunday but left the game after getting hit by a pitch. He’s listed as day-to-day with a swollen hand.

Final spot in the rotation

After being one of the best pitchers in the majors over his last nine starts, Bowden Francis has earned the chance to show he can be the guy to round out a veteran-laden rotation. He was slated to start Monday’s game against the Tigers before the game was cancelled due to rain.

His main competition did little to make any gains over the weekend. Yariel Rodríguez failed to get out of the first inning while throwing 30 pitches on Sunday. Spring training rules allowed him to re-enter the game and record two more outs but the performance wasn’t pretty. He'll need to harness his command better if he wants to be a productive member of this pitching staff.

Jake Bloss also made his spring debut and he gave up two hits, a pair of earned runs and walked a batter in 1 2/3 innings. He also hit 98 mph with his fastball, a number not seen before from the 23-year-old. He’ll need to improve and almost certainly start the season in Triple-A, but Bloss could be a prospect to keep an eye on this year.