With the 2026 season winding down for the Toronto Blue Jays, the playoff push still feels like the priority.

Entering Tuesday’s game, the team is hovering around .500 and only a game behind the Cleveland Guardians for the final wild card spot, every game matters. However, with or without October baseball, the franchise is going to evaluate the roster and see who would fit into their plans for next season.

Regarding the 40-man roster, names will always be added and removed before, during, and after the season. Players like George Springer, Shane Bieber, and Max Scherzer could free up spots as they are all on expiring contracts. You can also throw in injured names like Jameson Taillon, Yimi García, and Patrick Corbin, who will all likely hit the market in the offseason.

We already saw the likes of Daz Cameron, Yariel Rodríguez, and Lenyn Sosa be outrighted off the 40-man roster and are still with the franchise at the Triple-A level for the Buffalo Bisons.

Of the many players on the 40-man roster, who could be removed this coming off-season?

The Blue Jays acquired Chase Lee from the Detroit Tigers back on December 12th, 2025. While it was a minor transaction at the time, overshadowed by the Tyler Rogers signing later that day, Lee has served as a veteran sidearm pitcher who is best described as an AAAA player. So far, Lee’s time in Toronto has been less than ideal.

In seven games coming out of the bullpen, Lee has a 7.88 ERA and has walked eight batters in eight innings. Considering that Lee has two minor league options remaining, he is an arm the team can keep control of to try and fine-tune his mechanics; however, given how he has struggled mightily in the majors, his time may be running out.

Lee is a candidate to be removed from the 40-man roster as reliever turnover is incredibly high. While his 2.13 ERA for the Buffalo Bisons is nice, he is still someone who is not having consistent success at the major league level to be considered effective.

You may have forgotten who Brendan Cellucci is, but you’d be forgiven as he’s currently a phantom player. He was selected to the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster back in August when Matt Waldron was designated for assignment. He never made his big league debut, as the Jays optioned him back to the minor leagues shortly after.

Cellucci was once a Boston Red Sox draft pick in 2019, before being released last season. He was scooped up by the Blue Jays in January on a minor league deal and has mainly pitched in Triple-A this season. Across 44 games with the Bisons, Cellucci has a solid 3.26 ERA and

While Cellucci is a great story as a great journeyman story, spending over 200 games in the minor leagues, it may not be long before he is off the 40-man roster. Cellucci was selected due to his durability and great strikeout rate in the minors, but given how the Blue Jays may want to use that spot to add more talent at the major league level. It’s possible that if Cellucci is going to make his big league debut, it could very much be with a different club.

When Jesús Sánchez first started his campaign with the Blue Jays, he was one of the more capable hitters in the lineup as he was slashing .274/.316/.437 with a .753 OPS. Now in the second half, Sanchez is barely hitting .200 and has struck out 16 times in 24 games in the second half. While a lot of that can be attributed to his injured list stint for his ankle injury, where he is losing grace with his club is in the field.

Sánchez this season has been taking multiple steps back in the outfield, and it was on full display this past Sunday in Kansas City, where he dropped a routine fly ball. Sánchez is dead last among Blue Jays batters in bWAR (-0.9), and his days in Toronto could very much be in jeopardy.

With Anthony Santander potentially returning by the end of the season, the number of left-handed batters the team has on its roster currently (Brett Bateman, Nathan Lukes, Sean Keys, Josh Smith) are all very much surpassing him in starting games.

They could potentially consider moving on in the offseason, but if not, he’s a non-tender candidate as he’s arbitration eligible this off-season. The Jays could look to fill his spot with another impact player the team could acquire this off-season.

This one I find has a 50/50 chance of happening. Straw has an $8 million team option for next season with the Cleveland Guardians paying the entire $1.75 million buyout. While Straw’s defence is top-notch and makes up for trading away Daulton Varsho’s glove, Brett Bateman has emerged as the team’s new every-day centre fielder. While it is a small sample size, Bateman’s performance is helping his case to be a future piece to their contention puzzle.

Straw is a hitter with a career .634 OPS, which may not fit his potential price tag of $8 million. While that may seem harsh, given how the overall roster’s OPS sits at 27th in baseball (.692), they need to really improve in all-around hitting metrics. While we have seen Straw as a workhorse and ultimate teammate, the reality is that you need to build a roster around players who can not only defend, but also hit, at least at a $8 million price point.

Davis Schneider is slowly running out of chances to remain a Blue Jay. While Schneider has proven to be a capable major league player, his streakiness is a trend that has been on display for the past few seasons. A career .712 OPS is around average for a big leaguer; but the issue is consistency.

In Triple-A with the Bisons, Schneider has been capable, as he has a .812 OPS in 47 games, but has struggled at the big league level. Over 62 games this season, Schneider is slashing .142/.295/.274 with three home runs in 140 plate appearances, well down from his production in 2025.

Schneider wasn’t called when the rosters expanded due to being sent down on August 22nd, though he has already been optioned five times this season. That means if the Jays wished to option him again before the end of the season, he’d have to clear waivers.