Projecting Blue Jays' Opening Day batting order after latest moves
The Toronto Blue Jays finally got their offseason truly underway on Tuesday evening, with the team’s first major transaction of the winter.
Finalizing a trade with the Cleveland Guardians centred around infielder Andres Gimenez, the Blue Jays shipped off Spencer Horwitz, who had played 112 games with the team over the last two seasons.
While we’re still several months away from seeing Toronto play games for real, it’s never too early to start speculating how the team will look on the diamond next year.
Here’s a possible guess at how the Blue Jays could line up on Opening Day:
- George Springer, RF
- Bo Bichette, SS
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B
- Will Wagner, DH
- Alejandro Kirk, C
- Andres Gimenez, 2B
- Ernie Clement, 3B
- Davis Schneider, LF
- Nathan Lukes, CF
The top three of the Jays lineup appears solidified, but it’s anyone’s guess how exactly John Schneider might fill out the rest of his roster card.
Notably, there’s the absence of outfielder Daulton Varsho, who underwent rotator cuff surgery this offseason and remains questionable for Opening Day. While he’d definitely occupy one of the three outfield spots if healthy, it’s tough to slot him in right now with his availability being a question mark.
Will Wagner appears to be the Jays’ incumbent designated hitter, though it’s unclear if he’ll be ready to be an everyday MLB player with just 24 games of experience under his belt at the top pro level. Like Varsho, he’s also dealing with an offseason injury to his left knee, but is reportedly progressing well via Jays general manager Ross Atkins last week, as per Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith.
And then, of course, there’s the likelihood that Toronto could still find further additions to their eventual starting lineup, meaning the projections today could look wildly different than the actual product.
The Jays start their 2025 campaign at home on March 27, hosting a four-game set against a divisional rival in the Baltimore Orioles.