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Looking at the perfect Blue Jays’ 2027 Opening Day batting order

Photo credit: © Chris Jones-Imagn Images

By Cynthia Ryley Delaney

Sep 30, 2026, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 29, 2026, 21:29 EDT

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It’s sad to see the Toronto Blue Jays not be involved in October baseball, which officially kicked off on Tuesday.

After the 2025 season ended, it was a disappointing season from Game 4 until Game 161, with just a few bright spots along the way. It’s pretty clear that this team will need to bring in some outside help for offence this this off-season, on top of the internal improvement and better luck with health.

Free agency officially kicks off five days after the World Series winner is declared, and with the probable lockout, it’s going to be a busy off-season. Who knows how long the lockout will last, but it’s never too early to predict how the Blue Jays’ lineup will look with a fully healthy team in an ideal world.

In this article, we’ll take a look who could occupy the 13 spots available for position players!

Catcher

The backstop is fairly predictable. As long as he’s healthy, Alejandro Kirk will get the bulk of the starts catching the Blue Jays’ pitchers. He had a good season on both sides of the ball, slashing .278/.351/.415 with 10 home runs in 313 plate appearances for a 114 wRC+. Defensively, he had 6 Defensive Runs Saved and 11 Fielding Run Value, while also finishing as a top catcher in both framing and blocking.

That’s pretty run of the mill stuff from Kirk. My hot take is that the Jays are playing October baseball if he wasn’t injured just four games into the season.

As for his backup, Brandon Valenzuela has emerged as their number two catcher. With regular playing time, the 25-year-old switch hitter was slightly above-average hitter, but more importantly, he excelled defensively. In 618.2 innings behind the plate, he finished with 9 DRS and 12 FRV.

As long as these two stay healthy, it’ll be the catching tandem in 2027.

First base

If Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit at just a slightly above league average level this season, the Jays would probably be playing in the playoffs. Instead, he slashed a career-worst .260/.332/.356 with nine home runs in 609 plate appearances, good for a 95 wRC+ and 1.1 fWAR. If the Jays wish to make the postseason in 2027, he needs to be better, simple as that.

Guerrero Jr. will serve as the team’s everyday first baseman in 2027, with Kazuma Okamoto, Charles McAdoo, Sean Keys, and Valenzuela all capable of playing the position as well.

Second base

The Blue Jays need to add two bats this off-season, one at second base to replace Ernie Clement as the everyday starter, and one in the outfield.

There are a handful of options that could be available to the Blue Jays this off-season. On the free agent front, Bradon Lowe, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Gleyber Torres are all on expiring deals. It seems like Ketel Marte could be on the move, and who knows who else will be available when the off-season officially kicks off.

Clement still has a spot on the team as a left-handed pitching masher with strong defence (if it rebounds). It’s clear he was exhausted after a whole lot of baseball since the start of 2025, so his roster spot probably isn’t in jeopardy, especially with how well-liked he is. Having a player like Clement as a super-utility bench bat is exactly what contenders need.

Other potential options to eat some innings at the keystone are Davis Schneider, Josh Kasevich, McAdoo, and Josh Smith.

Shortstop

Andrés Giménez had some terrific defence at shortstop this season, finishing the year with 2 DRS, 18 Outs Above Average, and 15 FRV. There’s a good chance he’ll be a finalist for the Gold Glove at the position.

But man, the offence he provides isn’t ideal, especially at his price point as he’s set to make over $23 million next season. Over 508 plate appearances this past season, Giménez slashed .244/.291/.359 with nine home runs for an 81 wRC+. He still finished second in RBIs on the team though, showing you how much this offence needs to change.

With that contract, the Jays are unlikely to move him or find an upgrade, so you can pencil him in at short.

Clement, Kasevich, Smith, and maybe even JoJo Parker could eat innings at the position next season as well.

Third base

Like first and catcher, the Blue Jays’ hot corner is locked down for the foreseeable future.

Kazuma Okamoto was the team’s best hitter in 2026, slashing .232/.310/.452 with 33 home runs in 636 plate appearances, good for a 113. Not only was he the lone hitter on the team with 20+ home runs, but Okamoto’s defence at the position was solid. With an improved lineup, he’s going to be even more dangerous in 2027.

Other players who could play some third base are McAdoo, Keys, Kasevich, and a few others.

Outfield

Things start to get complicated with the Blue Jays’ outfield. If Addison Barger is healthy, he’s a pretty strong candidate to play right field next season. Brett Bateman also did more than enough to be at least their fourth outfielder next season.

What about Nathan Lukes, Davis Schneider, or Myles Straw? Or even their glut of left-handed batting outfielders in the upper minors? They have a lot of options here, but the Jays should be looking for outside help for at least one of their outfield spots.

Teruaki Satō is my favourite pick to play the position, but other notable free agents include Randy Arozarena, Ian Happ, and Seiya Suzuki. Who knows who’ll be available for trade, and maybe even Anthony Santander could play some innings. I’d also bring in a left-handed pitching mashing outfielder, such as former Blue Jay Randal Grichuk.

Designated hitter

Though Santander can play some outfield, his spot moving forward is likely as the team’s designated hitter, if he can stay healthy that is. The outfield is a mess, but so too is the DH role, as Keys is blocked by Guerrero Jr. and Okamoto, while Yohendrick Piñango’s defence is less than ideal in the outfield.

Who knows what George Springer’s future is, but if he wants to return for the 2027 season, he should at least be considered for the DH role as well. Once he recovered from his early-season toe injury, Springer was a reliable hitter on a team that didn’t have a whole lot of those.

The perfect batting order

There are so many variables to predicting a batting order six months from now, including will the season even happen, what’s the injury situation like, and so on and so forth. But if the team is healthy, this is my ideal perfect batting order to begin the 2027 season.

Brett Bateman – CF
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – 1B
Teruaki Satō – LF
Anthony Santander – DH
Alejandro Kirk – C
Brandon Lowe – 2B
Kazuma Okamoto – 3B
Addison Barger – RF
Andrés Giménez – SS

Bench: Ernie Clement, Brandon Valenzuela, Randal Grichuk, Nathan Lukes

Will this happen? Almost certainly not, but there’s no argument that this offence is significantly better than the 2026 Blue Jays’ offence. There’s a lot more power in the lineup and the lineup’s handedness is balanced.

If they pull something like this off, there’s a good chance the Jays’ offence will be top 10 next season, especially if Guerrero Jr. can bounce back.

Cynthia Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, DFOEdmonton, and DFOCalgary. She can be followed on Twitter @CynthiaRDelaney.