Toronto Blue Jays’ roster breakdown by position

TORONTO — Conventional wisdom says starting pitchers need six or seven weeks of spring training to gradually build their way toward game readiness. To expect pitchers to ramp up any sooner? Just unrealistic.

And then there’s Kevin Gausman, whose 2024 ramp-up offers an unexpected counterpoint to that theory. His Grapefruit League debut came in the Blue Jays’ final spring game: three innings, seven strikeouts and 52 pitches Monday. And now? That’s it. He passed the test, and he’s good to go.

Now granted, no one, least of all Gausman, is saying this is how the Blue Jays would have wanted his spring to go. It’s never ideal to build a pitcher up in games that count. But Gausman’s bothersome shoulder has improved, and he had major-league quality stuff and command Monday, when his fastball topped out at 96.9 mph and he threw his splitter and slider for strikes.

So with all of three innings, Gausman helped the Blue Jays answer one of their biggest questions of the spring. The trickledown effect is real, too. His presence in the rotation allows Mitch White to stay in a long-relief role, where his newfound velocity could play up.

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Elsewhere, though, there are moving pieces on the Blue Jays’ roster as they break camp for the 2024 season. That’s to be expected, of course; the bottom of a roster rarely stays the same for long, even on contending teams. But based on what we know now, here’s how the Blue Jays’ roster looks, and how their 26 players will be deployed early in the year:

Catchers (2): Alejandro Kirk, Brian Serven

When Danny Jansen was sidelined late last year, the Blue Jays pushed Kirk as hard as he’s ever been pushed in the major leagues, with appearances in every single game in September. It’s unlikely the Blue Jays will lean on Kirk quite so hard this early in the season, but he’s still likely to catch five days a week until Jansen returns. That opens up a start or two per week for Serven, a well-regarded defensive catcher.

Eyeballing the first road trip of the season, it’d be reasonable to expect Serven to start Saturday or Sunday in Tampa and Saturday or Sunday in New York, with Kirk covering the rest. Then, when Jansen returns, the split will become more balanced.

Infielders (4): 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 2B Cavan Biggio, 3B Isiah Kiner-Falefa, SS Bo Bichette

First base and shortstop are blissfully simple for the Blue Jays as they have uniquely talented players at those positions, and both Guerrero Jr. and Bichette take pride in taking the field as often as possible.

At second, expect Cavan Biggio to start against lots of right-handed pitching, with the likes of Davis Schneider and Ernie Clement mixed in against lefties. Over at third, Kiner-Falefa looks like the everyday option to start the year, but Clement offers depth behind Kiner-Falefa, and Justin Turner will likely play there a couple times per month.

Outfielders (3): LF Daulton Varsho, CF Kevin Kiermaier, RF George Springer

At its best, this outfield makes a difference at the plate and in the field. And after healthy and productive springs from all three starters, there’s optimism about this group as the season begins.

What’s less clear is how the Blue Jays would respond if one of their starters misses time, and considering Springer is 34 and Kiermaier turns 34 next month, it’s a possibility that must be considered. At present, there’s no real fourth outfielder on the roster, but Nathan Lukes, one of the final cuts of the spring, offers valuable depth at triple-A.

For now, the Blue Jays have two right-handed hitting bench options in Schneider and Clement, and both could handle left field on a day Toronto wants to give a left-handed hitter such as Varsho or Kiermaier a breather against a tough lefty. Biggio is another option, as he played 27 games in right field last year.

Designated Hitters (2): Justin Turner, Daniel Vogelbach

Expect Turner to get most of the starts at DH, with Vogelbach contributing as a pinch hitter against tough right-handed pitchers late in games, but there should also be some DH starts for Vogelbach. At 39, Turner will get days off, and there will also be times he plays the field, opening up a DH start for someone else.

Eventually, Joey Votto could push his way onto the roster, but his progress was slowed by a rolled ankle 10 days ago, so he’s not close to joining the big-league team just yet. If Votto shows he’s ready, and both Turner and Vogelbach are producing at the MLB level, the Blue Jays will very likely have to choose between Votto and Vogelbach. But these things often have a way of working themselves out, and even if not, that would be a good problem to have.

Utility (2): Davis Schneider, Ernie Clement

At this point, Schneider and Clement are utility players whose roles will change considerably from day to day. But if they hit anywhere near as well as they did last year, more playing time will open up for these two, whether it’s at second, third or in the outfield. At the same time, both will have to produce to stay on the roster, especially Schneider, who has minor-league options remaining.

Starting Pitchers (5): RHP Jose Berrios, RHP Chris Bassitt, LHP Yusei Kikuchi, RHP Kevin Gausman, RHP Bowden Francis

Gausman’s presence elevates this rotation from solid to excellent, even if he’s not likely to go deep into games just yet. That may also apply to Kikuchi and Francis, who might not work through opposing batting orders more than twice per outing for now. Regardless, this starting five looks to be among the strongest in MLB.

Depth-wise, it’s not ideal, but it’s not like every other contender has five aces. The defending World Series champion Rangers are rounding out their rotation with Cody Bradford and Dane Dunning. In New York, the AL East favourites have Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil starting every five days. And that’s before you get to the depth starters. No team has eight or nine starters it’s thrilled about.

Beyond this group, Mitch White, Wes Parsons and Alek Manoah (now building back up after a spring shoulder issue) represent the next layer of depth while prospect Ricky Tiedemann will look to show he belongs with a strong start at triple-A.

Relief Pitchers (8): RHP Yimi Garcia, RHP Chad Green, LHP Tim Mayza, RHP Trevor Richards, LHP Genesis Cabrera, RHP Mitch White, RHP Nate Pearson, RHP Wes Parsons

With both Jordan Romano and Erik Swanson sidelined, the Blue Jays are beginning the season short-handed. Expect Garcia and Green to get the ball in the team’s highest-leverage moments, with Mayza likely used in a setup role.

There’s length in this bullpen thanks to Richards, White, Parsons and Cabrera, all of whom can go multiple innings if needed. But any bullpen is going to look vulnerable without its top two arms, and that certainly applies to the Blue Jays. They could have gone for a little more upside by rostering Yariel Rodriguez, but they’re instead starting the 27-year-old Cuban in the minors in the hopes that he can find a rhythm there after missing the entire 2023 season.

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