The Opening Day roster is finally set

They really waited until the final possible moment to do it, but the Blue Jays have finalized their 25- and 40-man rosters to open the season.

Decisions ultimately hinged on the results from Troy Tulowitzki’s visit with the ankle specialist yesterday, and, since the results of that meeting were likely very bad, Tulo was placed on the 60-day disabled list. That opened one spot on the 40-man for Tyler Clippard or John Axford, the two relievers who prevailed in the bullpen battle over spring.

The other 40-man roster spot opened up when the Jays designated lefty Sam Moll for assignment. Moll bounced around the waiver wire a bunch this off-season. He was claimed off waivers by the Pirates in November, then claimed by Seattle a few days later, then, finally, he was claimed by the Jays in March. He pitched in a couple games for the Jays in spring but obviously wasn’t worth keeping on the 40-man.

So the roster looks like this:

Catchers: Russell Martin, Luke Maile

First base: Justin Smoak

Designated Hitter: Kendrys Morales

Second Base: Devon Travis

Shortstop: Aledmys Diaz

Third Base: Josh Donaldson

Outfield: Curtis Granderson, Kevin Pillar, Randal Grichuk

Bench: Yangervis Solarte, Gift Ngoepe, Steve Pearce

Starting Rotation: J.A. Happ, Aaron Sanchez, Marcus Stroman, Marco Estrada, Jaime Garcia

Bullpen: Roberto Osuna, Seung Hwan Oh, Ryan Tepera, Danny Barnes, Aaron Loup, Tyler Clippard, John Axford

There aren’t really any surprises here. I thought Danny Espinosa might crack the team over Ngoepe given the fact he has more of a track record of success in the Major Leagues and more upside in terms of power with the bat, but that would have meant another player, likely Gift himself, being DFAd. The Jays will retain Espinosa’s rights, so if Ngoepe is a pumpkin, they can easily make the switch.

Alright, let’s play some goddamn baseball!