The State of the Blue Jays' Roster

[Jesse Burrill]

The offseason sure comes at you quickly. While most teams in baseball have been in offseason mode for weeks, the Blue Jays (and the Dodgers) have barely had any time to catch their breath. Free agents will officially be eligible to sign with new teams as of this evening, just five days after Game 7 of the World Series, and the Blue Jays are going to have to shift quickly. 2026 is going to be another pivotal year for the franchise, and the groundwork starts now. 

As we approach the offseason, here is where the Blue Jays' 40-man roster stands:

Under Contract:

• 1B - Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
• OF/DH - George Springer
• SP - Kevin Gausman
• 2B/SS - Andrés Giménez
• SP - José Berríos
• OF/DH - Anthony Santander
• C - Alejandro Kirk
• RHP - Jeff Hoffman
• OF - Myles Straw
• RHP - Yimi García
• RHP - Yariel Rodríguez
• RHP - Shane Bieber

Springer, Gausman, Bieber and García will all be free agents after the 2026 season, with the Blue Jays having a club option on Straw, and Berríos has the option to opt out of his final two years after 2026.

Arbitration Eligible:
These are players that will either be Blue Jays next season or non-tendered. You can learn more about the Jays' arbitration decisions here.

• OF - Daulton Varsho
• LHP - Eric Lauer
• RHP - Nick Sandlin
• INF - Ernie Clement
• RHP - Ryan Burr
• C - Tyler Heineman

Players Under Team Control That Are Not Yet Arbitration Eligible:

• RHP - Bowden Francis
• LF/2B - Davis Schneider
• RHP - Louis Varland
• LHP - Brendon Little
• 3B/RF - Addison Barger
• RHP - Braydon Fisher
• RHP - Trey Yesavage

Toronto Blue Jays 2026 Depth Chart via FanGraphs

Most of the key players from the 2025 World Series run will be back, but the Blue Jays do have some notable players who have elected free agency this winter.

Free Agents:

• SS - Bo Bichette
• RHP - Chris Bassitt
• RHP - Max Scherzer
• 1B - Ty France
• RHP - Seranthony Domínguez
• INF - Isiah Kiner-Falefa

Like most teams, the Blue Jays face a roster crunch this offseason. Players on the 60-day IL had to be re-added to the 40-man roster after the season. With six players hitting free agency and six players coming off the 60-day IL, the numbers lined up quite nicely for Toronto. Maybe this was part of the reason Alek Manoah got DFA’d when he did, because the Blue Jays anticipated this. 

So, the Blue Jays haven't had to free up any space on their 40-man roster yet, but they soon will. The front office will certainly be making some additions to the roster in the coming months.

The decision of whether or not to bring Bichette back will be a massive talking point, and there seems to be interest in a return. The same is true of Bassitt, as both players have publicly expressed interest in returning to the Blue Jays this upcoming season. After the playoff runs both players had, you would expect the Blue Jays would want them back, too.

It's not only players on the major league roster that Toronto needs to think about. The Rule 5 draft in December will force the team to add certain prospects to the 40-man roster to protect them from being claimed by other teams. Some notable candidates to be protected include:

• LHP - Ricky Tiedemann
• SS - Josh Kasevich
• OF - Yohendrick Pinango
• C - Brandon Valenzuela
• OF - Victor Arias

The Blue Jays thrived in 2025 by building their team with depth and using every roster spot to its fullest. And seeing how they came just as close as they could come to winning a World Series (while falling just short), it's a safe assumption that they will use that strategy again. Looking at the current 40-man roster, here are some names that may be on the outside looking in when the 2026 season starts:

• RHP - Dillon Tate
• RHP - Paxton Schultz
• LHP - Justin Bruihl
• RHP - Tommy Nance
• LHP - Easton Lucas
• RHP - Robinson Piña
• RHP - Ryan Burr

This is where it gets tough. Each of the first five names on this list contributed, and at some points significantly, to what the Blue Jays were able to achieve this year. Bruihl pitched postseason innings for the club, Nance had a sub-2.00 ERA, Schultz threw 24.2 innings with some stellar moments, and Lucas had back-to-back great starts early in the season. Even Piña and Burr have the potential to be big league arms, but both dealt with injuries that caused them to end up on the 60-day IL. Every single one of these players could be on a big league roster somewhere, but the Blue Jays' roster seems mostly set, and these players are on the bubble.

On the position player side, it becomes much harder to see the Blue Jays moving on from anyone. Leo Jiménez makes the most sense if the Blue Jays think they can improve in that spot, but he did have an .818 OPS in Buffalo in his limited time and is still just 23 years old. Jonatan Clase is another candidate, but like Jiménez, he is still just 23 years old, and the Blue Jays targeted him at the trade deadline just two seasons ago. Joey Loperfido was the odd man out on the postseason roster, and Straw is making more money than his skill set is probably worth, but it would be incredibly shocking if the Blue Jays decide to move on from either of those players.

As the Blue Jays shift from World Series mode into offseason planning mode, plenty of questions remain. They are almost certainly going to reload for another World Series run in 2026, but with a crowded 40-man roster already, tough choices are coming. Having too much talent and not enough space is a good problem to have, but the Blue Jays are falling victim to that here. Ultimately, they may look to make a trade at some point this offseason to clear up some roster spots, but no matter what happens, it may force the team to move on from a valuable piece before Opening Day. 

View full article