The Toronto Blue Jays announced ahead of their Sunday doubleheader against the New York Yankees that outfielder Jonatan Clase would be the 27th man on their roster. It was likely an obvious choice for the team, as Clase, a primary speed threat, has been raking with the triple-A Buffalo Bisons to start the season.
So much so that a future run as a full-time 26-man roster member shouldn&#8217;t be off the table, while the big league team has been struggling to score lately, Clase has posted a monstrous contact-heavy .343/.452/.400 slash line in the minors. He&#8217;s already heading back to Buffalo after yesterday&#8217;s doubleheader, and in the lone game he played, he went 0 for 4 with one strikeout.
While he won&#8217;t fix the Jays&#8217; lack of home runs (bottom five in the majors), his OBP suggests that he can bring quality at-bats to a lineup that&#8217;s been <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-big-3-need-to-perform-better-for-a-variety-of-reasons">deprived of them as of late. </a>
His speed makes him a flexible piece for manager John Schneider as well &#8212; he can fit into the top of the order and try to steal bases for the bats behind him, or fit into the bottom and get on base to turn the lineup over more consistently.
Clase&#8217;s incredible bat performance lately rounds off his game perfectly if he can maintain a similar level in the coming weeks. His bat has always been the biggest question about his game, as his <a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/jonatan-clase-682729?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb">99th percentile sprint speed</a> and flashy glove have been well documented.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Jonatan Clase activates stealth mode for the home run robbery 🥷<a href="https://twitter.com/BlueJays?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BlueJays</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/BuffaloBisons?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BuffaloBisons</a> <a href="https://t.co/zzEKwooPdX">pic.twitter.com/zzEKwooPdX</a>
&mdash; Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MiLB/status/1910834045631816180?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The problem that Clase faces is that the Jays&#8217; outfield is cluttered at the moment. While it may seem like a no-brainer to call him up based on his stats alone, Anthony Santander and George Springer are extremely unlikely to move from where they are in their platoon scenario and Daulton Varsho is expected to <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/daulton-varsho-is-feeling-like-himself-again-as-he-works-his-way-back-to-blue-jays">come off the IL soon</a>.
Add on top of that fellow backup players like Nathan Lukes and Myles Straw, and it seems like Clase will have to continue his hot streak for a while longer to replace one of the bench bats already with the big league club.
Despite going hitless in game one of the doubleheader, expect Clase to continue to be on the team&#8217;s radar for either a proper call-up or, at the very least, another situation that calls for a 27th man on the roster should the need arise.
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The Toronto Blue Jays announced ahead of their Sunday doubleheader against the New York Yankees that outfielder Jonatan Clase would be the 27th man on their roster. It was likely an obvious choice for the team, as Clase, a primary speed threat, has been raking with the triple-A Buffalo Bisons to start the season.

So much so that a future run as a full-time 26-man roster member shouldn't be off the table, while the big league team has been struggling to score lately, Clase has posted a monstrous contact-heavy .343/.452/.400 slash line in the minors. He's already heading back to Buffalo after yesterday's doubleheader, and in the lone game he played, he went 0 for 4 with one strikeout.

While he won't fix the Jays' lack of home runs (bottom five in the majors), his OBP suggests that he can bring quality at-bats to a lineup that's been <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-big-3-need-to-perform-better-for-a-variety-of-reasons">deprived of them as of late. </a>

His speed makes him a flexible piece for manager John Schneider as well -- he can fit into the top of the order and try to steal bases for the bats behind him, or fit into the bottom and get on base to turn the lineup over more consistently.

Clase's incredible bat performance lately rounds off his game perfectly if he can maintain a similar level in the coming weeks. His bat has always been the biggest question about his game, as his <a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/jonatan-clase-682729?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb">99th percentile sprint speed</a> and flashy glove have been well documented.

https://twitter.com/MiLB/status/1910834045631816180

The problem that Clase faces is that the Jays' outfield is cluttered at the moment. While it may seem like a no-brainer to call him up based on his stats alone, Anthony Santander and George Springer are extremely unlikely to move from where they are in their platoon scenario and Daulton Varsho is expected to <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/daulton-varsho-is-feeling-like-himself-again-as-he-works-his-way-back-to-blue-jays">come off the IL soon</a>.

Add on top of that fellow backup players like Nathan Lukes and Myles Straw, and it seems like Clase will have to continue his hot streak for a while longer to replace one of the bench bats already with the big league club.

Despite going hitless in game one of the doubleheader, expect Clase to continue to be on the team's radar for either a proper call-up or, at the very least, another situation that calls for a 27th man on the roster should the need arise.

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Blue Jays outfielder Jonatan Clase has been making a case for more than a 27th man roster spot

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