The Toronto Blue Jays finished in the basement of the AL East last season, with the club struggling to find a rhythm for most of the campaign before throwing in the towel at the trade deadline. The prospect haul the club got from trading away the veteran expiring contracts and the numerous arms the club rotated through the rest of the way resulted in numerous transactions to round out the season and had the roster ebbing and flowing as the Jays limped to the offseason.

With Ross Atkins still at the helm this winter, the Jays are preaching contention in 2025 but there are numerous holes the front office needs to patch up before the roster is seaworthy in the AL East. The hot stove has the Jays connected with numerous high-profile free agents, which is par for the course looking back over the past few seasons, but until the pen is put to paper, Toronto needs to improve the squad in multiple areas if they want to contend sooner than later – and that’s not even considering extensions for internal players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette to provide long term stability.

Considering the numerous free agents the Blue Jays have been tied to, let’s take a quick look at the current roster picture for the organization and what challenges or changes might be required this offseason, especially with the Winter Meetings just over a week away – a major hub for wheeling and dealing.

As it currently stands, the Blue Jays have 38 players on the 40-man roster, with two spots currently open after the club gave Jordan Romano and Dillon Tate their walking papers at the non-tender deadline. The Jays also let Génesis Cabrera go a few weeks before then but supplemented that transaction by picking up Michael Petersen from the Marlins.

With it being the offseason, the Jays also had to add any players that were on the 60-day IL back to the 40-man roster, as there is no IL in the offseason. So Romano (now a free agent), Will Wagner, Daulton Varsho, and Alek Manoah were all re-added back into the roster picture and occupy spots that were previously left open given the rules surrounding the extended IL duration.

Wagner and Varsho were placed on the IL late in the year because they weren’t going to return before the end of the season (a move just on paper if you will) and the 60-day IL allowed the club to add two more players to the roster to finish out the season. Manoah on the other hand has been sidelined for a good portion of the campaign after undergoingelbow surgery midway through the year. He will likely land back on the IL as soon as the season opens but Wagner and Varsho should be good to go to begin the year or within the first month in the outfielder’s case. The Jays will gain a roster spot when Manoah lands back on the 60-day IL early next year, although it is only for a temporary moment until his return, so the Jays will have to occupy him on the 40-man this winter until they are allowed to move him to the IL.

All this considered, the Blue Jays currently have two spots to work with this winter for either adding players via free agency, trade, or off of waivers/Rule 5 Draft without a subtraction needed.

Per FanGraphs, the Blue Jays have a few players that have zero Minor League options at their disposal entering next season. That means that the player must make the active roster out of Spring Training (barring an IL stint) otherwise the club must designate the player for assignment and pass them through waivers before they can be optioned down to the minor leagues.

One of those is Ernie Clement, who shined on a rather dull Jays squad last year and the New York product found himself in the Gold Glove conversation after spending most of the season at the hot corner. Clement is part of the infield logjam that exists amongst the numerous Blue Jays prospects vying for more playing time but he stands out given his experience and elite bat-to-ball contact skills. He is also a versatile athlete who can play multiple infield positions and is likely suited for a bench role next year if the Jays do some heavy lifting this winter free agent wise.

Joining Clement from a position player standpoint are Tyler Heineman and Leo Jiménez.

Heineman rejoined the Blue Jays this season as a waiver claim from the Red Sox following the Danny Jansen trade and it seems as though Ross Atkins is keen on having him and Alejandro Kirk form the tandem behind the plate this season. On a more interesting note is Jiménez, who sits more on the bubble to make the active roster as he too is part of the infield logjam, similar to Clement. His glove is top notch and his bat made strides this past campaign but he will be in a tough spot to best others like Wagner, Davis Schneider, Addison Barger, and Orelvis Martinez for a spot right from the get-go and he could be a trade candidate this winter.

From a pitching side on the ‘no options train’ are relievers Hagen Danner, Tommy Nance, and Zach Pop.

Danner has struggled to stay healthy over the past two campaigns, having been limited to 33 and 34 outings respectively in the minors dating back to 2023. When healthy, Danner has proved he can be an effective reliever in triple-A but has yet to make the jump to the Major Leagues outside of a limited outing in August of 2023 where he left with an oblique injury.

Nance and Pop both spent time in the Blue Jays bullpen last season and both players felt the highs and lows that come with being a big league reliever. Both arms will be in the mix come Spring Training alongside Danner but depending on how much lifting the Jays do this winter in the bullpen – which does need a lot of work – will determine how many spots are up for grabs. It wouldn’t be surprising if two of the three pitchers mentioned here find themselves designated come April 1st.

I touched on it a bit earlier in the article but the Blue Jays added quite a few arms throughout the year to see if they could find a diamond in the rough to contend for the bullpen in 2025. Most did not stand out from the group and quite a few pitchers came and went in quick succession, but if the Jays need a roster spot in short order over the next few months, they can DFA one of those arms this winter if space is needed. They also gave some internal candidates a shot in the big leagues to varying results.

The group of pitchers on the bubble includes:

From a position player side, the Jays could clear some space for the 40-man roster by trading away one of the players who is looking for increased playing time when there is limited time available, meaning they could begin the season in triple-A given the number of players in the mix.

The likelihood of any of these players being dropped (besides Jiménez, who is out of options come next season) seems less likely than the pitchers mentioned above but there is an increased chance that one or more of these players could be traded away for either prospects or potentially a big league bullpen arm. The downside of the latter case in terms of making roster space is that the player coming back in the trade would also need a 40-man roster spot, which potentially means the club may have to subtract still, likely resulting in a pitcher getting DFA’d. Cross that bridge when you get there.

The players in the potential trade or drop mix would be:

You could make arguments for who the club should move or trade away from the list above, with each player having ranging trade values, but to clear some space for either bonus pool money or prospect depth (mainly pitching), moving one of the players mentioned above can help support other areas on the roster and potentially help with any roster space issues should they arise this winter. The club has already moved one player this offseason – Luis De Los Santos – who was DFA’d and picked up by the New York Mets.

As it stands, the Blue Jays don’t have to do anything with their roster if they want to add two more players this winter. However, the Blue Jays will likely be adding more than two players over the coming months to form a more well-rounded roster, so subsequent roster moves will be needed to make space for any players signed or acquired via trade.

Considering the Jays need a few bullpen arms, the likelihood that a pitcher gets dropped in exchange for adding a pitcher seems quite high compared to a position player being moved or dropped. It seems more likely that the Jays will have the group of roster players compete for any open roster spots come springtime but it also wouldn’t be surprising if the Jays moved one or two infielders this winter for a more experienced player, whether it be a pitcher or position player. That has more to do with improving the squad and leveraging the infield prospects than making roster space.

Starting with the pitchers who are unlikely to make the Opening Day roster seems like the first place to start if cuts are needed but until the Jays sign a couple of free agents, there aren’t any moves needed at this time.

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