The Blue Jays have all however formally set their Opening Day roster, as supervisor John Schneider informed reporters (together with Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi and MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson) that right-hander Jacob Barnes, and outfielders Alan Roden, Myles Straw, and Nathan Lukes will all break camp with the staff. The primary three of these names aren’t on Toronto’s 40-man roster, so some 40-man house should be carved out so the Jays can formally choose their contracts.
Barnes and Richard Lovelady (whose minor league contract was chosen earlier this week) will fill two bullpen spots left open by accidents, as right-handers Erik Swanson, Zach Pop, and Ryan Burr will all begin the season on the injured checklist. Swanson’s restoration from a median nerve entrapment in his throwing arm may not take an excessive amount of longer, as Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling writes that Swanson has began some baseball-related actions and may begin throwing off a mound in one other 1-2 weeks. Pop is coping with discomfort in his throwing elbow and Burr has shoulder fatigue, and it stays unclear if both of those accidents would possibly require a 60-day IL stint, which might open up room on the 40-man.
Barnes is an Article XX(b) free agent, so yesterday was the primary of three opt-out dates that Barnes had baked into his minor league contract. The Blue Jays will keep away from that problem completely by putting Barnes on the Opening Day roster, placing the righty on the verge of showing in his tenth Main League season. The veteran will now lock in a $1.4MM wage for the 2025 marketing campaign.
Barnes has pitched for 9 totally different groups throughout his journeyman profession, together with a quick stint with the Jays again in 2021. Final yr with the Nationals, Barnes posted a 4.36 ERA, 19.9% strikeout fee, and seven.2% stroll fee over 66 innings.
Since Daulton Varsho is beginning the season on the injured checklist, some stage of outfield depth was required to deal with heart discipline whereas Varsho is on the shelf. The Blue Jays’ lack of a set DH additionally created further room for extra gamers to search out their approach into the lineup, so the outfield trio of Lukes, Straw, and Roden will all be heading north after competing for what gave the impression to be maybe only one bench spot heading into camp.
Lukes has appeared in 51 video games for the Jays over the past two seasons, and Straw is trying to revive his profession after being outrighted off the Guardians’ roster. Acquired in a controversial wage dump of a commerce seemingly tied to the Blue Jays’ unsuccessful pursuit of Roki Sasaki, Toronto took on $11MM of the remaining wage owed to Straw by the 2026 season, as per the phrases of the five-year, $25MM extension he signed with Cleveland in 2022. Whereas that cash didn’t assure Straw a roster spot, his sturdy protection makes him a worthy fill-in for Varsho’s elite heart discipline glove, so it looks as if Straw and Lukes may type a platoon till Varsho is wholesome.
Roden will even see a while in heart discipline, with Schneider telling Matheson and firm that Roden shall be deployed within the different two outfield slots and at DH to offer him dose of standard taking part in time. Anthony Santander or George Springer may very well be subsequently given DH days when Roden is within the discipline, so as to preserve the 2 veterans recent.
A 3rd-round decide for the Blue Jays within the 2022 draft, Roden shall be making his Main League each time he seems in his first sport. The outfielder hit .314/.406/.510 with 9 homers over 286 plate appearances with Triple-A Buffalo final season, within the newest step of what has been one thing of a two-year tear by minor league pitching. Roden then posted large numbers in Spring Coaching, placing himself squarely within the image for a roster spot.
MLB Pipeline ranks Roden because the fifth-best prospect in Toronto’s farm system, citing him as a doable leadoff hitter for the Jays as early as this season as a consequence of his superior on-base and baserunning abilities. Roden additionally has some energy, and has elevated his exit velocity over the past two minor league seasons. Roden is a left-handed hitter, which additionally helps his case to earn taking part in time in a Jays lineup that tilts to the fitting facet.
