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Breaking down Blue Jays’ roster decisions as spring training concludes
The Toronto Blue Jays concluded its spring training schedule and has named the players that will make the journey north to start the season.
DUNEDIN, Fla. – Before we delve into a breakdown of the Toronto Blue Jays’ spring training, some words of wisdom from Max Scherzer, after he was asked to assess his first camp with the club.
“You’re going to hate my answer on this,” he began. “I’ve been on enough teams, I’ve seen how everything comes together. There are good guys in this clubhouse, but you really don’t know what you’ve got and how the team is going to gel and how it’s going to come together until the middle of the season. Everybody feels like they’ve had a great camp across the league. Everybody’s going to say that. That’s kind of where talk is cheap.
“How you handle losing streaks, how you handle different environments, that’s when you find out how good of a team you are, when you face adversity,” he added. “That’s when you know what type of team you have.”
Straight truth from the future Hall of Famer, all worth remembering now that the Blue Jays are headed north, their opening day roster set, the baseball about to get real.
Several feel-good stories emerged over the past six weeks, with Bo Bichette’s return to form at the plate and outfield prospect Alan Roden’s emergence to earn a spot on the club prime among them, while Alejandro Kirk’s $58-million, five-year extension, which the club says is still pending a physical, locked into place one piece of a core timing out over the next two winters.
Concerns that surfaced in the Florida sun were led by Scherzer’s irksome right thumb issue, although manager John Schneider said the 40-year-old “came in feeling good” Sunday morning after a strong outing Saturday, “so we’ll see where the rest of today goes and where we line him up in the rotation.”
And, of course, the low point of camp came with the failure to lock up Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ahead of the Feb. 18 deadline for an extension set by the four-time all-star first baseman. The long-term uncertainty around him and fellow pending free agent Bichette will hover over the club all spring long.
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Another concern is the bullpen attrition which led to Erik Swanson, Zach Pop and Ryan Burr opening the season on the injured list.
With that, a deeper look at the camp that was:
Opening Day Roster
Here’s how the Blue Jays are breaking:
C: Alejandro Kirk; Tyler Heineman
INF: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.; Andres Gimenez; Bo Bichette; Ernie Clement; Will Wagner
OF: Anthony Santander; Myles Straw; Nathan Lukes; George Springer; Alan Roden; Davis Schneider
SP: Jose Berrios; Kevin Gausman; Max Scherzer; Chris Bassitt; Bowden Francis
RP: Jeff Hoffman; Yimi Garcia; Chad Green; Nick Sandlin; Brendon Little; Yariel Rodriguez; Jacob Barnes; Richard Lovelady
Manager John Schneider began breaking the news to players Saturday night, telling Nathan Lukes he’d made the team by phone as the outfielder and his wife were taking their daughter to a Disney On Ice show.
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“When the manager calls you, it’s usually good news. Bad news is in person,” laughed Lukes, who’d been anxious the past week as he awaited the decision. “So once I saw the phone call, it was a good feeling.”
Roden was among the players informed Sunday morning, called into a meeting that included first base and outfield coach Mark Budzinski and player development assistant Devon White. Schneider said the 25-year-old’s reaction “was the most emotion I’d seen out of him…with a big fist pump.”
“I was just excited,” Roden grinned. “I said, ‘Let’s bleeping go,’ just pumped.”
The position-player moves left Addison Barger and Steward Berroa on the outside looking in, while the final pitching decisions were more complicated.
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Lefty swingman Ryan Yarbrough, who seemed certain to make the team when he signed a minor-league deal in February, was informed he didn’t make the team in the morning and, after exercising his opt-out Friday, became a free agent at 2 p.m. ET.
That left two spots open for three relievers, with Barnes and Lovelady winning out over Tommy Nance, who is out of options.
Roden, Straw and Barnes need spots on the 40-man roster, so there’s some roster juggling ahead.
