Leo Jiménez Is Out of Options. Can He Make the Blue Jays' Opening Day Roster?

[Simon Li]

Leo Jiménez has been a prospect in the Blue Jays system for a while now. Acquired as a teenager out of Panama in international amateur free agency, Jiménez has been in the organization for over six years. Despite missing time due to injury and the COVID year, Jiménez steadily climbed his way up the org, with strong on-base skills while playing a solid shortstop.

That culminated in a “breakout” 2024, when Bo Bichette missed time due to injuries. Jiménez appeared in 63 games and took 210 PA; he was a league-average hitter (101 wRC+) and played solid defense at second base and shortstop. 2025 was a setback, however, for Jiménez, as although he was granted an additional option year due to his previous injury history, he struggled once again to stay healthy, only playing a combined 44 games across the major and minor leagues. In a short cup of coffee with the Jays, Jiménez slashed .069/.129/.172 for a -19 wRC+.

It wasn’t all negatives, however, as when Jiménez was healthy and playing in Triple-A Buffalo, he showcased why the Jays have kept him around over all these years, with strong bat-to-ball skills with an 88.6% zone contact rate, as well as strong average exit velocities and hard hit numbers. He is mostly a line drive and groundball hitter, and instead of pulling the ball in the air, he sprays it to all fields instead, limiting his power production.

Jiménez also showed solid plate discipline, leading to a high walk rate of 15.5%, but was passive, only swinging 39.3% of the time. He has a reputation as a ball magnet as well, as he’s had multiple seasons of 20+ hit by pitches, which adds to his on-base percentage. Jiménez's Triple-A season seems more representative of his abilities as a hitter, and despite his poor results in MLB in 2025, he still showed a knack for squaring up the ball. 

The biggest question for Jiménez is if he can break camp with Toronto, as he’s out of options now. The Jays' starting infield is already set, with Andrés Giménez at shortstop, Ernie Clement manning second base, and a platoon of Kazuma Okamoto and Addison Barger at third, leaving little room for Jiménez. However, with Clement thrust into a starting role, due to Bichette's departure and Giménez becoming the full-time shortstop, there is room for a backup middle infielder, and Jiménez is primed to take over. Toronto's recent trade for Jesús Sánchez, however, means another roster spot is locked in, as Sánchez is also out of options and will need to be on the MLB roster. 

Right now, FanGraphs' RosterResource has these position players projected to be on the MLB roster:

• C: Alejandro Kirk, Tyler Heineman
• INF: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Kazuma Okamoto, Ernie Clement, Andrés Giménez, Addison Barger
• OF: Nathan Lukes, Davis Schneider, George Springer, Daulton Varsho, Myles Straw, Jesús Sánchez

Unfortunately for Jiménez, that is 13 hitters. Although the Jays could choose to roster only 12 pitchers and add an extra hitter, with the strenuous MLB season, teams usually roster the maximum number of pitchers.

The outfield situation for the Jays is a little crowded, however. Even if Springer primarily plays DH while Anthony Santander is out for five to six months, there are five primary outfielders for three spots, in addition to Barger, who will move back and forth between third base and right field. The Jays could afford to option an outfielder so that they could bolster their infield depth. Lukes and Schneider both have at least one option remaining, as does Barger. Optioning one of them or trading one away could allow Clement to shift over to shortstop against tough lefties, while the righty-batting Jiménez steps in for the lefty-batting Giménez in the lineup.

If Leo Jiménez cannot make the Opening Day roster, the Jays will be forced to make a similar decision to the one they made a few years ago with Otto Lopez, another right-handed hitting infielder who was granted an extra option year. Lopez has turned out to be a solid second division regular with the Marlins after being traded to the Giants and then DFA’d by San Francisco before Miami picked him up. Lopez has now had two straight seasons with over 2.0 fWAR for the Marlins, and Jiménez has the capability to be a similar player. There’s a spot on the Blue Jays roster for a right-handed hitting utility player; Jiménez just needs to take it. 

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[Spanky__99]

It'd be silly not to roster this guy.