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Blue Jays: Looking at which players will make up the Buffalo Bisons’ infield
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Photo credit: © Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Feb 26, 2026, 20:00 ESTUpdated: Feb 26, 2026, 17:23 EST
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The Toronto Blue Jays have a pretty strong infield.
In fact, every member of their projected infield are heading to the World Baseball Classic. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will represent the Dominican Republic, Ernie Clement will represent the States, Andrés Giménez will represent Venezuela, Kazuma Okamoto will represent Japan, and Alejandro Kirk will represent Mexico.
It’s one of their strengths, but there are also a handful of players in Triple-A who could be called up if injuries occur, or better yet, if they force the Blue Jays’ hands. In this article, we’ll take a look at the infielders of the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.
Last season, both Alejandro Kirk spent seven days on the injured list due to concussions, with the team turning to Ali Sánchez. This season, the third catcher will be contested between two players: Brandon Valenzuela and C.J. Stubbs.
Valenzuela is a defence-first catcher with a strong arm, good receiving, and acceptable blocking. He’s a switch-hitter with some pop in his bat, but he likely won’t be an average hitter in the big leagues.
Stubbs, who will represent Israel at the coming World Baseball Classic, has some big league experience, playing a game with the Washington Nationals in 2025. That said, he’s not on the 40-man roster while Valenzuela is.
At first base, Damiano Palmegiani is looking for a bounce back season. He breezed through the system from 2021 until 2023, before running into some trouble in Triple-A in 2024, and struggling in 2025. Palmegiani has a ton of raw power, leading the organization with 21 home runs in 2024, but he needs to make more contact and drop the strikeout rate.
Riley Tirotta was also drafted in 2021, and his name will pop up on this list quite a bit. Last season, the 27-year-old slashed .268/.359/.417 with 12 home runs in 463 plate appearances with the Buffalo Bisons. He played 113 games, with 36 of them (or 254.2 innings) coming at first base. Except him to split his time between first, third, and right field.
Eloy Jiménez is another player to keep an eye on. The former top prospect came up the minors as an outfield, but he’s not great out there and played first base during the Dominican Winter League, where he looked okay. If he is sent to the Bisons, expect Jiménez to play a mix of first, the outfield, and DH.
Signed to a minor league deal, expect Juan Yepez to also eat some innings at first base. The 28-year-old has some big league experience, slashing .258/.307/.423 with 20 home runs in 588 big league plate appearances. He’s played some outfield and third base in his career, but he’ll likely play first and designated hitter with the Bisons.
The Blue Jays love versatility, so if they can play second base, there’s a strong chance they can play the other infield positions. Rafael Lantigua, who signed a minor league deal after the season ended, is one of those players. He had an impressive 2023 season, but dropped off in 2024, then struggled in Triple-A with the Philadelphia Phillies last season. He can play second, third, short, left field, right field, and centre field.
Ryan McCarty has a pretty cool story, as he dominated DIII baseball and signed as a non-drafted free agent. He’s found some success over the past four seasons, and slashed .225/.326/.328 with five home runs in 405 plate appearances. He spent 10 games with the Bisons last season and plays first base, second base, third base, and shortstop.
In the minor league portion of the 2025 Rule 5 draft, the Blue Jays selected utility player Carlos Mendoza. Standing at 5’7”, 165 lbs,  the utility player broke out in the Tigers system last season, slashing .287/.394/.409 with seven home runs in 407 plate appearances. He plays second, third, and all three outfield spots, but hasn’t played centre field since 2019.
Ben Cowles was picked up off waivers recently and is on the team’s 40-man roster. He broke out in 2024, slashing .285/.372/.457 with nine home runs in 395 plate appearances for a 141 wRC+, but took a step back in 2025 with both Triple-A teams of the two Chicago organizations. He’s played second base, shortstop, and third base in his career.
The Blue Jays picked up Cowles as an insurance policy for Leo Jiménez. After missing most of 2025 due to injury, Jiménez is out of option years, meaning that if he doesn’t make the Blue Jays out of Spring Training, he’ll have to be DFA’ed. There’s a good chance he’ll be claimed on waivers, but if not, he can play second and shortstop.
Josh Kasevich is another player who can play both shortstop and second. The Blue Jays’ second-rounder in 2022 had an injury-filled 2025 season and struggled when he was on the field. He’s looking for a bounce back season, as he had some helium coming into the 2025 season.
The Blue Jays acquired Josh Rivera from the Chicago Cubs ahead of the 2024 trade deadline. He played 110 games with the Buffalo Bisons last season, slashing .226/.332/.330 with six home runs in 394 plate appearances for an 86 wRC+, which is better than how he did in limited games with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Like the others, Rivera has played shortstop, second, and third in his career.
Lastly, Charles McAdoo may not start the season in Triple-A, but could be called up if he has a strong start to his season. McAdoo got off to a slow start in 2025, but after a stint on the development list, he slashed .267/.335/.469 with 15 home runs in 362 plate appearances from May 27th until the end of the season, good enough for a 132 wRC+. He can play third and first base, with a cup of coffee in the outfield.
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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