<p>In just over a week, the Toronto Blue Jays will host the Baltimore Orioles at the Rogers Centre on Opening Day to kick off a pivotal 2025 season. </p>
<p>The final few days of spring training are (finally) upon us, meaning this club will soon depart Dunedin, Fla., and head north of the border for the start of the regular season. But they still have four exhibition games left on the schedule, beginning with Thursday&#8217;s contest at TD Ballpark versus the Tampa Bay Rays.</p>
<p>From there, the Blue Jays will play the Philadelphia Phillies and Minnesota Twins before concluding their Grapefruit League slate against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. Then, it&#8217;ll be off to the airport and back to Toronto.</p>
<p>These final four games will present an opportunity to those vying for jobs to leave a lasting impression on the coaching staff before they decide which 26 players will travel north for Opening Day next week. Having said that, we already have a pretty strong idea as to who will make up that roster.</p>
<p>So, let&#8217;s take a swing at predicting Toronto&#8217;s Opening-Day squad as spring training winds down.</p>
<h2>Catchers</h2>
<p><strong>Alejandro Kirk, </strong><strong>Tyler Heineman</strong></p>
<p>There was zero doubt heading into camp about who this team&#8217;s starting catcher would be in 2025, and Kirk has certainly looked the part through 15 games this spring. He&#8217;s been excellent, both at the plate and behind it. One note on his offensive results is he features a team-leading 53.1-per-cent hard-hit rate, a significant jump from last season&#8217;s clip of 40.6 per cent.</p>
<p>As for Kirk&#8217;s backup, barring a late injury, Heineman will likely remain in that role out of the gate. While the switch-hitting backstop &#8212; the only other catcher currently on the 40-man roster &#8212; faced competition from non-roster invitees Christian Bethancourt and Ali Sánchez, neither seems to have done enough to nudge him out of that spot.</p>
<h2>Infielders</h2>
<p><strong>Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Andrés Giménez, Bo Bichette, Ernie Clement, Will Wagner, Davis Schneider, Addison Barger</strong></p>
<p>With the Blue Jays&#8217; starting infield set, featuring Guerrero Jr. and Clement at the corners and Bichette and Giménez up the middle, all that remained this spring was determining who their reserves would be on the diamond.</p>
<p>It&#8217;d be shocking if Wagner didn&#8217;t break camp with the big-league squad out of spring training. The 26-year-old has endured a quiet showing in exhibition play, recording nearly as many hits (seven) as strikeouts (six) in 12 games. But he did more than enough to earn a spot on this roster with his impressive performance post-trade last season, slashing .305/.337/.451 with a 125 wRC+ (100 league averaged) across a 24-game span. And he&#8217;ll likely earn most of his reps in a platoon DH role.</p>
<p>Technically, Schneider remains an infielder, though he&#8217;ll play more outfield than infield this season. It wasn&#8217;t a guarantee coming into camp that he&#8217;d make this team. But he&#8217;s quietly impressed and appears among the early beneficiaries of new hitting coach David Popkins. There&#8217;s been a clear focus on getting him back to who he was upon arriving at this level in 2023, and that plan seems to be working.</p>
<p>Barger is another product of Toronto&#8217;s system that&#8217;s enjoyed plenty of success this spring. While the team has yet to make an official decision on where he&#8217;ll begin this season, his availability at third base and right field should boost his chances of breaking camp in the majors &#8212; likely forcing Orelvis Martinez to open the &#8217;25 campaign at triple-A.</p>
<h2>Outfielders</h2>
<p><strong>George Springer, Anthony Santander, Joey Loperfido, Myles Straw*</strong></p>
<p>Any discussion involving Toronto&#8217;s starting outfield trio starts and ends with Daulton Varsho, whose status for Opening Day remains up in the air. The 28-year-old still has yet to play the field as he continues rehabbing his surgically repaired shoulder, although he hasn&#8217;t missed a beat with his bat, clubbing four home runs in nine games this spring.</p>
<p>Many have wondered if Varhso could exclusively DH to avoid a season-opening IL stint. But with how valuable he is defensively, the Blue Jays can&#8217;t afford to risk having his shoulder issue linger throughout the regular season. It&#8217;s also worth remembering his limited offensive ceiling, as he finished one per cent below a league-average hitter per wRC+ (100) last season and 15 per cent below in &#8217;23.</p>
<p>Assuming Varsho isn&#8217;t ready by next Thursday, this team will probably opt to carry Straw to mainly serve as a late-game defensive replacement, particularly for scenarios with Santander and Springer occupying both outfield corners.</p>
<p>Loperfido&#8217;s odds of breaking camp with the Blue Jays will also considerably improve if Varsho opens the year on the IL, creating an opportunity for him to fill in as the everyday centre-fielder. If all goes smoothly, especially at the plate, he&#8217;d likely share a platoon role with Schneider in left once the 2024 Gold Glove winner returns.</p>
<p>And yes, you&#8217;re probably wondering why Roden isn&#8217;t included here, right? It has nothing to do with how he has fared this spring and is all about playing time. Until this club can provide him with a clear pathway to consistent big-league reps, the organization&#8217;s top outfield prospect may be better suited to play regularly at triple-A.</p>
<p>But his major league debut should arrive sooner than later.</p>
<h2>Starting Pitchers</h2>
<p><strong>Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer, Bowden Francis </strong></p>
<p>If healthy, the starting rotation should be among Toronto&#8217;s biggest strengths this season. With Scherzer&#8217;s status in question, though, that&#8217;s already become a pretty big<em> if</em>.</p>
<p>Depending on how Scherzer&#8217;s upcoming side session goes, there&#8217;s still a chance he will avoid an IL stint and remain on track to make his first turn through the rotation. If he can&#8217;t go, Yariel Rodríguez &#8212; who&#8217;s been stretched out as a starter &#8212; would likely assume his position amongst the starting staff, slotting into one of the final two spots alongside Francis.</p>
<h2>Relievers</h2>
<p><strong>Jeff Hoffman, Chad Green, Yimi García, Nick Sandlin, Brendon Little, Ryan Yarbrough, Zach Pop, Yariel Rodríguez*</strong></p>
<p>The back end of the Blue Jays bullpen has already taken a hit this spring, with Erik Swanson expected to begin this season on the IL with a right forearm injury. Even so, considering Hoffman, Green and García are healthy, it remains a formidable late-game unit. But there will be additional high-leverage opportunities available for the likes of Sandlin and Little early on.</p>
<p>That accounts for five of the eight jobs up for grabs in the &#8216;pen, although one of those remaining three will probably be given to Yarbrough, who&#8217;s picked up where he left off last season despite his late arrival to camp. Having the veteran lefty on this roster will also be extra important if Rodríguez is needed as a starter. But if he isn&#8217;t, he&#8217;d likely serve in a versatile role as an option to pitch multiple innings of relief or offer value in high-leverage situations.</p>
<p>Pop, who&#8217;s out of options, appears poised to claim that final reliever position &#8212; not because he&#8217;s pitched his way onto the 26-man roster, but given the amount of time and resources this organization has invested in him over the last three seasons. And if they require another arm, odds are they&#8217;ll turn to Tommy Nance, who&#8217;s also out of options.</p>

In just over a week, the Toronto Blue Jays will host the Baltimore Orioles at the Rogers Centre on Opening Day to kick off a pivotal 2025 season. 

The final few days of spring training are (finally) upon us, meaning this club will soon depart Dunedin, Fla., and head north of the border for the start of the regular season. But they still have four exhibition games left on the schedule, beginning with Thursday's contest at TD Ballpark versus the Tampa Bay Rays.

From there, the Blue Jays will play the Philadelphia Phillies and Minnesota Twins before concluding their Grapefruit League slate against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. Then, it'll be off to the airport and back to Toronto.

These final four games will present an opportunity to those vying for jobs to leave a lasting impression on the coaching staff before they decide which 26 players will travel north for Opening Day next week. Having said that, we already have a pretty strong idea as to who will make up that roster.

So, let's take a swing at predicting Toronto's Opening-Day squad as spring training winds down.
<h2>Catchers</h2>
<strong>Alejandro Kirk, </strong><strong>Tyler Heineman</strong>

There was zero doubt heading into camp about who this team's starting catcher would be in 2025, and Kirk has certainly looked the part through 15 games this spring. He's been excellent, both at the plate and behind it. One note on his offensive results is he features a team-leading 53.1-per-cent hard-hit rate, a significant jump from last season's clip of 40.6 per cent.

As for Kirk's backup, barring a late injury, Heineman will likely remain in that role out of the gate. While the switch-hitting backstop -- the only other catcher currently on the 40-man roster -- faced competition from non-roster invitees Christian Bethancourt and Ali Sánchez, neither seems to have done enough to nudge him out of that spot.
<h2>Infielders</h2>
<strong>Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Andrés Giménez, Bo Bichette, Ernie Clement, Will Wagner, Davis Schneider, Addison Barger</strong>

With the Blue Jays' starting infield set, featuring Guerrero Jr. and Clement at the corners and Bichette and Giménez up the middle, all that remained this spring was determining who their reserves would be on the diamond.

It'd be shocking if Wagner didn't break camp with the big-league squad out of spring training. The 26-year-old has endured a quiet showing in exhibition play, recording nearly as many hits (seven) as strikeouts (six) in 12 games. But he did more than enough to earn a spot on this roster with his impressive performance post-trade last season, slashing .305/.337/.451 with a 125 wRC+ (100 league averaged) across a 24-game span. And he'll likely earn most of his reps in a platoon DH role.

Technically, Schneider remains an infielder, though he'll play more outfield than infield this season. It wasn't a guarantee coming into camp that he'd make this team. But he's quietly impressed and appears among the early beneficiaries of new hitting coach David Popkins. There's been a clear focus on getting him back to who he was upon arriving at this level in 2023, and that plan seems to be working.

Barger is another product of Toronto's system that's enjoyed plenty of success this spring. While the team has yet to make an official decision on where he'll begin this season, his availability at third base and right field should boost his chances of breaking camp in the majors -- likely forcing Orelvis Martinez to open the '25 campaign at triple-A.
<h2>Outfielders</h2>
<strong>George Springer, Anthony Santander, Joey Loperfido, Myles Straw*</strong>

Any discussion involving Toronto's starting outfield trio starts and ends with Daulton Varsho, whose status for Opening Day remains up in the air. The 28-year-old still has yet to play the field as he continues rehabbing his surgically repaired shoulder, although he hasn't missed a beat with his bat, clubbing four home runs in nine games this spring.

Many have wondered if Varhso could exclusively DH to avoid a season-opening IL stint. But with how valuable he is defensively, the Blue Jays can't afford to risk having his shoulder issue linger throughout the regular season. It's also worth remembering his limited offensive ceiling, as he finished one per cent below a league-average hitter per wRC+ (100) last season and 15 per cent below in '23.

Assuming Varsho isn't ready by next Thursday, this team will probably opt to carry Straw to mainly serve as a late-game defensive replacement, particularly for scenarios with Santander and Springer occupying both outfield corners.

Loperfido's odds of breaking camp with the Blue Jays will also considerably improve if Varsho opens the year on the IL, creating an opportunity for him to fill in as the everyday centre-fielder. If all goes smoothly, especially at the plate, he'd likely share a platoon role with Schneider in left once the 2024 Gold Glove winner returns.

And yes, you're probably wondering why Roden isn't included here, right? It has nothing to do with how he has fared this spring and is all about playing time. Until this club can provide him with a clear pathway to consistent big-league reps, the organization's top outfield prospect may be better suited to play regularly at triple-A.

But his major league debut should arrive sooner than later.
<h2>Starting Pitchers</h2>
<strong>Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer, Bowden Francis </strong>

If healthy, the starting rotation should be among Toronto's biggest strengths this season. With Scherzer's status in question, though, that's already become a pretty big<em> if</em>.

Depending on how Scherzer's upcoming side session goes, there's still a chance he will avoid an IL stint and remain on track to make his first turn through the rotation. If he can't go, Yariel Rodríguez -- who's been stretched out as a starter -- would likely assume his position amongst the starting staff, slotting into one of the final two spots alongside Francis.
<h2>Relievers</h2>
<strong>Jeff Hoffman, Chad Green, Yimi García, Nick Sandlin, Brendon Little, Ryan Yarbrough, Zach Pop, Yariel Rodríguez*</strong>

The back end of the Blue Jays bullpen has already taken a hit this spring, with Erik Swanson expected to begin this season on the IL with a right forearm injury. Even so, considering Hoffman, Green and García are healthy, it remains a formidable late-game unit. But there will be additional high-leverage opportunities available for the likes of Sandlin and Little early on.

That accounts for five of the eight jobs up for grabs in the 'pen, although one of those remaining three will probably be given to Yarbrough, who's picked up where he left off last season despite his late arrival to camp. Having the veteran lefty on this roster will also be extra important if Rodríguez is needed as a starter. But if he isn't, he'd likely serve in a versatile role as an option to pitch multiple innings of relief or offer value in high-leverage situations.

Pop, who's out of options, appears poised to claim that final reliever position -- not because he's pitched his way onto the 26-man roster, but given the amount of time and resources this organization has invested in him over the last three seasons. And if they require another arm, odds are they'll turn to Tommy Nance, who's also out of options.

Predicting Blue Jays’ 2025 Opening Day roster as end of spring training nears

Schnieder, Blue Jays note the shift in the clubhouse and the correlation to results on the field

Instant Reaction: Blue Jays couldn’t buy a clutch hit in 8-4 defeat to Mariners

A breakdown of the Toronto Blue Jays bats to start the 2025 season

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Jose Berrios (17) walks towards the dugout against the Baltimore Orioles during the second inning at Rogers Centre

Recent articles from Thomas Hall

Breaking News