The Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays will play their first regular-season game at Tropicana Field in less than a week. However, Toronto still needs to make a few crucial choices about the Opening Day roster in the interim. Let’s look at the five questions the Blue Jays must address before to the opening of the season on March 28.
Is Kevin Gausman going to start the season on the IL?
If Gausman’s spring ramp-up hadn’t been cut short by right shoulder fatigue, we would probably be talking about the Blue Jays ace starting on Opening Day. Although it’s uncertain if Gausman will start the season with the team or on the injured list, José Berríos was given the nod.
It’s likely a decision that will be made following Gausman’s next outing, scheduled for Monday. The Blue Jays are still deciding whether Gausman will pitch in a Grapefruit League game that day against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton, Fla., or in a minor-league game.
“It just depends on how much we can control really his workload,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “I know we still kind of can in a major-league game. It would be nice for him to face major-league hitters, (experience the) pitch clock, PitchCom, all that stuff. (We’re) just still working through that.”
Wherever Gausman makes that start, he hopes to throw around 60-65 pitches and the Blue Jays will be looking at his velocity, delivery and execution or, as the manager put it, looking to see if Gausman looks like his normal self and is feeling fine afterward. From there, the Blue Jays will decide, in conjunction with Gausman, whether he can make his next start in a real major-league game — albeit with a strict pitch count — or whether he needs to begin the season on the IL and continue to build up his pitch count in extended spring training.
If Gausman can’t start the season with the team, the Blue Jays have a few options. Mitch White is fully built up, throwing 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball on Friday with a walk and six strikeouts against the Boston Red Sox at TD Ballpark. Alongside White, the Blue Jays are also considering Yariel Rodríguez, Wes Parsons, Paolo Espino and prospect Ricky Tide Mann as options to fill in for Gausman either as a starter or in a bulk role.
Who merits the final roster spots?
The Blue Jays have had their starters set for a while, with no real position battles this camp. But there are openings on the edges of the roster, with three bench spots up for grabs.
The Blue Jays have yet to finalize their position player roster, but recent moves have given us clues as to which way they’re leaning. On Wednesday, the Blue Jays traded Santiago Espinal, which opened up a 40-man roster spot and cleared some of the logjam in their infield. Then on Friday, the club granted non-roster invitee Eduardo Escobar his release after informing him he would not be making the team.
Those moves seemingly clear the way for Ernie Clement to make his first Opening Day roster. The 28-year-old utility man will have earned it with an exceptional performance this spring, in which he’s hit .357 with a 1.053 OPS.
As for the two remaining spots, Davis Schneider makes sense as a right-handed complement to Cavan Biggio at second base. Even if Schneider’s numbers haven’t shined this spring — .641 OPS with two home runs in 15 games — he is still a power threat off the bench and he’s made strides defensively, especially in left field. Meanwhile, with Joey Votto still sidelined with a right ankle injury, fellow non-roster invitee Daniel Vogelbach is poised to be the team’s best option as a left-handed power threat off the bench.
While John Schneider remained tight-lipped about which players they’re leaning toward, the Blue Jays manager did say they’ll be considering lineup balance, positional needs, what types of pitches a player has handled in their career and how that fits in with their roster when making those final selections.
The Blue Jays also need to decide which non-roster backup catcher they’ll take in place of the injured Danny Jansen. Both Payton Henry and Brian Serven have performed well in this camp. Schneider previously told MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson that Serven offers a bit more defensive ability while Henry is more offensively geared, so it’ll depend on what the Blue Jays believe best suits their needs. But Serven started Friday’s game along with many of the regulars, which could be a tell. Espinal’s trade opened up one 40-man roster spot which could go to Vogelbach, but the Blue Jays will still need to clear another space for one of the backup catchers.
When will Alek Manoah be back with the Blue Jays?
Manoah came into camp on a mission to put his nightmarish 2023 season behind him. Despite arriving in improved shape, Manoah’s progression has been derailed by right shoulder soreness to the point where he won’t be ready for Opening Day. The Blue Jays confirmed as much when they informed right-hander Bowden Francis that he’ll begin the season in Toronto’s rotation.
Manoah threw 23 pitches in a live BP setting on Friday, touching 96 mph with his fastball. It’s not clear what Manoah’s next steps will be, but the right-hander said he’s focused on feeling better every day and dealing with this issue now so that it’s not a concern come September or October.
“It can be pretty frustrating. But I think the biggest thing is just keeping my mind on what I need to do today, what I need to do tomorrow,” Manoah said. “When tomorrow comes and when the next day comes, worry about that and that keeps my mind in a safe space. That keeps my feet right where they need to be and allows me not to miss any steps along the way.”
Even without knowing Manoah’s exact next steps, it’s obvious the 26-year-old will need several weeks to build up to a full starter’s workload. If the Blue Jays believe he won’t be ready for at least six weeks or so, they could choose to put Manoah on the 60-day IL, which would clear a 40-man roster spot for one of the position players. That’s a significant decision, though, since it keeps Manoah out for two months.
When Manoah is ready to return to the Blue Jays, however, Schneider said a rotation spot will be waiting.
“We’re going to keep him there (in the rotation),” the Blue Jays manager said. “He’s obviously done that his whole career, so whenever he’s ready and performing, we’ll see where he’s at, but definitely as a starter.”
Regarding Joey Votto, what happens?
Votto’s Blue Jays career started with a bang when he hit a first-pitch home run in his Grapefruit League debut with the club last week. Unfortunately, moments later, Votto rolled his right ankle when he stepped on a bat in the dugout and hasn’t played since.
The Blue Jays continue to describe Votto’s injury as day-to-day and Schneider said Votto is doing a bit more activity each day. But, with only three Grapefruit League games remaining, Votto is running out of time to get into another game before camp breaks.
Because Votto signed his minor-league deal so deep into camp, it was going to be a challenge for the 40-year-old to be ready for Opening Day. This setback has made that look like an impossibility.
But all along, Votto has expressed a willingness to begin the season in the minor leagues — in fact, he told The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans that he expects it.
Once healthy, Votto could stay back in extended spring training before he’s ready to join a minor-league affiliate. It’s not clear how many at-bats the Blue Jays would like to see from Votto — or how many he would like to have — before deciding if they want him with the big-league club. The Blue Jays’ home opener on April 8 looms as a poetic possibility for Votto’s Blue Jays debut, though it remains to be seen if he will be ready by then.
Who will fill the bullpen’s remaining spots?
The Blue Jays could be without two of their most important relievers when the season begins. Set-up man Erik Swanson and closer Jordan Romano experienced late-camp setbacks and their status for Opening Day remains in jeopardy.
Swanson, dealing with forearm tightness, played catch on Thursday and Friday. Romano, who received an anti-inflammatory shot in his right elbow due to inflammation earlier this week, is scheduled to play catch on Saturday. But whether either will be ready to begin the season will go down to the wire, Schneider said.
If neither is healthy enough, Nate Pearson and Zach Pop are next in line to make the squad. Pearson and Pop each possess quality stuff, but they’ve struggled with harnessing it consistently. However, this is an opportunity for both to show they can be meaningful contributors.
As for an alternate closer, Toronto will likely take a ninth-inning-by-committee approach with Yimi García, Chad Green, Tim Mayza, Génesis Cabrera and Trevor Richards all options that Schneider said he could turn to.
“It’ll depend on what the (opposing) lineup looks like, how rested those guys are,” Schneider said. “It would probably be some type of committee if you will, but (I) haven’t really tackled that one yet.”
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