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Checking in on Blue Jays playing in Winter Leagues
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Photo credit: © Mark J. Rebilas - Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Nov 16, 2025, 16:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 16, 2025, 15:47 EST
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Midway through November, all of baseball’s winter leagues have started.
As of Nov. 16, there are six Toronto Blue Jays prospects currently playing in winter leagues, three in Venezuela, one in the Dominican Republic, one in Mexico, and one in Australia.
Let’s take a look at how each Blue Jays’ prospect has performed in their respective winter league.

Damiano Palmegiani

Damiano Palmegiani has played 16 games with Cardenales de Lara in Venezuela and is slashing .274/.370/.435 with two home runs and four doubles in 73 plate appearances. Unfortunately, Palmegiani hasn’t played since Nov. 7.
The 2025 season was a rough year for the 25-year-old. Splitting his time between the Double-A and Triple-A, Palmegiani slashed .159/.306/.233 with one home run in 216 plate appearances. The corner infielder/left fielder is just one year removed from leading the Blue Jays organization in home runs, so there’s still hope he can find success in 2026.

Richard Gallardo

Sticking to the Blue Jays’ prospects in Venezuela, Richard Gallardo has pitched for Tigres de Aragua this season and has an 8.22 ERA in 7.2 innings pitched this season. He’s walked six batters and struck out three so far this season.
Gallardo was a minor league Rule 5 pick in the 2024/25 off-season, but didn’t pitch for the Blue Jays in 2025 due to injury. In Fangraphs’ mid-season update in 2024, he ranked as the Chicago Cubs’ 36th-best prospect, noting that he gets a ton of groundballs with a mid-90s two-seam fastball.

Alexis Hernandez

Another minor league Rule 5 draftee who is playing in the Venezuelan Winter League is Alexis Hernandez, who they picked in the 2023/24 off-season. In eight appearances for Navegantes del Magallanes, the 23-year-old is slashing .273/.360/.455 with a home run in 25 plate appearances.
Hernandez split the 2025 season between the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays and High-A Vancouver Canadians, slashing .260/.354/.415 with eight home runs when including his 13 plate appearances in the Florida Complex League.

Jonatan Clase

The lone Blue Jays’ player currently in the Dominican Winter League is switch-hitting outfielder Jonatan Clase. With the Aguilas Cibaenas, the 23-year-old is slashing .250/.429/.625 with two home runs in 21 plate appearances, earning four walks to six strikeouts.
Clase’s 2025 season wasn’t great. With the Bisons, he slashed .255/.335/.403 with seven home runs in 352 plate appearances for a 100 wRC+. His numbers in the big leagues were subpar, as Clase slashed .210/.288/.300 with two home runs in 112 plate appearances for a 69 wRC+. He did steal 33 of 38 bases in 2025, so that’s a bright spot.

CJ Van Eyk

In Mexico, CJ Van Eyk has pitched 34 innings with Aguilas de Mexicali, where he has a 2.91 ERA. In those six starts, the 27-year-old has struck out 27.7% of batters and has a 5.7 BB%.
The Blue Jays’ second-round pick in 2020 pitched 126 innings in 2025, the second-most for any pitcher in the Blue Jays system. Most of his time was spent in Triple-A, where he had a 4.94 ERA and 5.52 FIP in 89.1 innings pitched. As a whole, Van Eyk had a 4.79 ERA and 5.17 FIP in 126 innings.

Manuel Beltre

Lastly, Manuel Beltre recently joined the Perth Heat of the Australian Baseball League, but has yet to play for the team early in the season. Last season in Single-A, his third season at the level, the shortstop slashed .237/.320/.335 with five home runs in 431 plate appearances, similar to his 2024 season.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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