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EspañolWith the World Baseball Classic about to begin, the Blue Jays are temporarily down an entire infield plus their starting catcher.
Not only does the tournament create a good chance for bench players and minor-leaguers to get more playing time, but it also offers Blue Jays decision makers an up-close look at their depth chart, showcasing its strengths and weaknesses ahead of a long season.
“Overall, I think our starting pitching depth is in a really good spot,” said manager John Schneider. “And I should say pitching as a whole. Outfield depth is in a good spot, and overall I like where we’re at, especially from the pitching side.”
The manager acknowledged the team’s infield feels “a little bit thin” with the entire starting group at the WBC, but it’s also safe to say no team is deep at every single position.
A year ago, 58 players contributed to the 2025 team that won the American League pennant, a group that included everyone from Kevin Gausman and George Springer to Ali Sánchez and Will Robertson. Here in 2026, many of those same players are back, but as the year unfolds, lots of support will be needed from the minor-league system.
With that in mind, let’s take stock of this roster position by position, assessing where the Blue Jays are deepest, and where the biggest organizational question marks exist:
Catcher
Locks: Alejandro Kirk, Tyler Heineman
Depth: Brandon Valenzuela, C.J. Stubbs*
Positional strength: Excellent. Kirk is one of the game’s best all-around catchers.
Positional vulnerability: Very high. While Heineman had a great 2025 season and Valenzuela’s now close to being MLB-ready, should Kirk go down, there’s simply no good way to replace a catcher who had 4.7 fWAR last year.
First Base
Locks: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Depth: Kazuma Okamoto, Riley Tirotta*, Eloy Jimenez*, Sean Keys*
Positional strength: Elite. Guerrero Jr.’s hoping to build off an epic post-season as he enters his age-27 season and the typically conservative ZiPS projection model forecasts 32 home runs, a .291 average and an .888 OPS for him in 2026.
Positional vulnerability: Moderate. There’s no replacing Guerrero Jr.’s bat, but the Blue Jays could avoid taking a complete zero here by moving Okamoto to first, playing Addison Barger at third and tapping into their outfield depth.
Second Base
Locks: Ernie Clement
Depth: Davis Schneider, Leo Jimenez, Josh Kasevich*, Josh Rivera*, Rafael Lantigua*
Positional strength: Very good. Clement’s infield defence and bat-to-ball skills are elite.
Positional vulnerability: High to very high. The drop-off from Clement would be steep, as Schneider is also needed in the outfield mix, Jimenez has a lifetime .635 OPS, and the others haven’t yet played in the majors. Kasevich has been impressing in spring training, but relying on him or Jimenez in an everyday capacity would not be ideal.
Third Base
Locks: Kazuma Okamoto
Depth: Ernie Clement, Addison Barger, Josh Kasevich*, Charles McAdoo*, Josh Rivera*
Positional strength: Potentially high. With six 30-home run seasons to his name in Japan, Okamoto has the upside to be an impact third baseman. By signing him to a four-year, $60 million deal, the Blue Jays made it clear they see him as a difference-making player.
Positional vulnerability: Moderate. If needed, Addison Barger could slide over to third base while opening up more playing time for outfielders like Lukes, Straw, Schreck or even Eloy Jimenez.
Shortstop
Locks: Andres Gimenez
Depth: Ernie Clement, Leo Jimenez, Josh Kasevich*, Rafael Lantigua*
Positional strength: Potentially high. Gimenez could be a plus-defender at short with a league-average bat if all goes well, and players of that calibre are rare.
Positional vulnerability: High to very high. If needed, Clement could handle shortstop, but moving him over would then weaken the rest of the infield.
Outfield
Locks: Daulton Varsho, Addison Barger, Jesus Sanchez, Davis Schneider, Myles Straw, Nathan Lukes
Depth: Jonatan Clase, RJ Schreck*, Eloy Jimenez*, Yohendrick Pinango*
Positional strength: Very good. In Varsho, Barger, Sanchez and Lukes, the Blue Jays have four big-league calibre outfielders who bat from the left side. Meanwhile, Davis Schneider and Myles Straw offer righty power and speed, respectively.
Positional vulnerability: Low. Clase has upside and is already on the 40-man. Pinango and Jimenez offer power, and Schreck posted a .395 on-base percentage in the minors last year while handling all three outfield positions. As Schneider says, the Blue Jays are well-positioned here.
Designated Hitter
Locks: George Springer
Depth: Riley Tirotta*, Eloy Jimenez*
Positional strength: Excellent. Springer posted a career-best 166 wRC+ last year, ranking third in baseball behind only Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani.
Positional vulnerability: Low. After last year’s resurgence, Springer is among the game’s top sluggers again. At the same time, backfilling at designated hitter is logistically easy since anyone can slot in there.
Starting Pitching
Locks: Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Jose Berrios, Cody Ponce, Trey Yesavage, Max Scherzer
Injured List: Shane Bieber
Depth: Eric Lauer, Lazaro Estrada, Ricky Tiedemann, Adam Macko, Grant Rogers*, Connor Seabold*, CJ Van Eyk*, Chad Dallas*
Positional strength: Excellent. Not only did the Blue Jays add Cease and Ponce, but they’ll also get a full season of Yesavage for the first time. On paper, few teams have a better rotation.
Positional vulnerability: Moderate. As good as this rotation looks on paper, Bieber remains on the sidelines with an uncertain timetable and prospects like Tiedemann and Dallas are still working their way back from elbow surgeries.
Relief Pitching
Leading MLB options: Jeff Hoffman, Louis Varland, Tyler Rogers, Brendon Little, Eric Lauer, Mason Fluharty, Braydon Fisher, Tommy Nance, Chase Lee
Injured List: Yimi Garcia
Depth: Angel Bastardo, Spencer Miles, Yariel Rodríguez*, Nate Garkow*, Jesse Hahn*
Positional strength: Moderate. Predicting relief performance is notoriously difficult, but as of now, the Blue Jays have the makings of a strong bullpen with a chance to add more at the trade deadline (something they’ve done every time they’ve been in contention under GM Ross Atkins).
Positional vulnerability: High. An injury to Hoffman, Varland or Rogers would leave the Blue Jays short on trusted high-leverage options, especially while Garcia is still sidelined.
*players not currently on the 40-man roster
