As the Blue Jays inch closer to securing a berth in the 2025 postseason, I can’t help but start to think ahead a little about what the roster could look like in the playoffs.

Normally, something like this is pretty obvious, but this year’s Blue Jays team has some of, if not the best depth, I’ve ever seen in this organization, especially on the position player side. I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t think that would be the case as they entered the 2025 campaign, but bounce-back seasons from veterans like George Springer, Bo Bichette, and Alejandro Kirk, coupled with breakout performances from the likes of Addison Barger, Nathan Lukes, Ernie Clement, and more have left them with some enviable depth, and some tough choices on a nightly basis for Blue Jays manager John Schneider.

As we look ahead, it’s important to remember that their current roster of 28 players will be shrunk back down to the typical 26 once the postseason begins. For a typical 26-man roster, teams will carry five starting pitchers and generally eight relievers for a total of 13, leaving 13 position player spots. However, it’s quite common for teams to roll with just 12 pitchers because they don’t need a 5th starter, meaning that there’s one extra spot on the bench. This is not a guarantee, but my guess is this is how Schneider and the Blue Jays will operate when the time comes.

With that in mind, we can start to predict who might be on the postseason roster, although there are still some big questions that need to be answered before that time. Will Bo Bichette be healthy enough to play, and/or will he be limited to DH duties? The same questions could be asked about Anthony Santander, who hasn’t played since May 29th, thanks to a shoulder injury, but swatted 44 home runs last year for the Baltimore Orioles when he was healthy. For the sake of this exercise, at least to begin with, I’m going to assume that both players will be available in some capacity.

If that’s the case, here’s my best guess at what the lineup could look like against right-handed starting pitching.

There are a lot of different directions that Schneider and his staff could go when writing out a lineup, but if it were up to me, this is how I’d stack them up if the playoffs started today and everyone was healthy. I did leave Santander out of the lineup, mostly because I believe that he’ll be a part-time player or even a bench bat in this year’s postseason. I mostly say that because I think it will be very difficult for him to get up to speed as the Blue Jays finish off their regular season, and this is a team that has a lot of players who are capable of contributing. Just to be clear, this is not a slight on Santander, and if he’s able to play a few regular-season games and perform well, then things could change.

My prediction vs. left-handed starters

How confident am I that I’m correct about this? Not very, but in my defence, there are a lot of options available to the Blue Jays thanks to their versatility, and there’s also the aforementioned injury questions around Bichette and Santander.

When it comes to Bichette, in both lineups, I’ve slotted him in as the designated hitter, which I believe is the most likely outcome as he fights to get back from the IL in time to help this team in the playoffs. If he’s healthy enough to play defence as well, then I think that potentially changes things. Suddenly, you have the option to start Santander or maybe slide Springer to the DH and start another outfielder.

As I’ve said a few times, there are plenty of options available to the Blue Jays coaching staff, and their bench if somewhat difficult to predict, although I’ll still give it a go:

If Bichette is capable of playing defence, then I think that could potentially change the roster. For example, I see a battle between Kiner-Falefa and Ty France for one of the last bench spots, and I’ve gone with IKF here because I assume that Bichette will be limited to just hitting. That said, it wouldn’t shock me if France was on the playoff roster over IKF if the Blue Jays feel confident that they have enough infield depth. I also don’t know that it’s a guarantee that Straw is on the playoff roster either, but he could be a useful late-inning defensive replacement and/or pinch runner, and I’d bet on his inclusion.

As for the omissions, unfortunately, the Blue Jays won’t be able to carry everyone who has contributed to getting them into their current place in the standings. As I mentioned, I think France is the likely casualty for the last bench spot, or he could be swapped out for IKF, depending on the roster needs at that time. The other is Joey Loperfido, who has done everything he can and then some to earn playing time this year, but has still spent a fair bit of time in Buffalo. If the Jays decide to go with 13 pitchers for any round of the postseason, then they’re going to have to trim the roster further, and that would be an even more difficult choice.

However this all shakes out, the Blue Jays are in a fairly strong position despite missing one of, if not their best hitter, in Bo Bichette at the moment. The hope is that he’ll be able to at least DH by the time the postseason rolls around, and thankfully, they still hold a 4.0 game lead over the Yankees in the AL East with just 10 games left to play. If the Blue Jays can hang on to their current spot as a top-two team in the AL, that would give them a bye to the Divisional Series round, which gets underway on October 4th. That gives Bichette and Santander about 2.5 weeks to be ready to contribute during the 2025 postseason, and if they aren’t ready, then the roster will certainly have a different look. As I said, there are a lot of moving parts at the moment, but this Blue Jays roster is talented, versatile, and playing well down the stretch.

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