Examining how the Blue Jays’ 2025 roster was constructed

Daulton Varsho has dazzled this year despite his limited plate appearances with his Gold-Glove-level defence and promising offence, with 20 home runs under his belt. The addition of Seranthony Domínguez and Louis Varland has solidified the bullpen depth by bringing more velocity and swing-and-miss factor to a beleaguered bullpen that lost Ryan Burr, Nick Sandlin and Yimi García to injuries. Most of all, prized trade deadline acquisition Shane Bieber has become a dependable starter for the Blue Jays, who lacked depth in the starting rotation.

Players like Ty France and Joey Loperfido also brought platoon advantages, and Loperfido, especially, flashed his glove and offensive abilities in the absence of George Springer this season. Of course, José Berríos has also been a stalwart presence in the Blue Jays’ starting rotation, ever since 2022, and even though he’s been more inconsistent this season with his performance, the Blue Jays were able to win more games with Berríos on the mound.

Without these trade acquisitions, either from this year or in the past, the Blue Jays may not have been able to create their Cinderella run for the division.

Free agents (12) 

Chris Bassitt, Justin Bruihl, Ernie Clement, Kevin Gausman, Jeff Hoffman, Eric Lauer, Yariel Rodríguez, Anthony Santander, Max Scherzer, George Springer, Nathan Lukes, Yimi Garcia

Historically, Toronto has struggled to produce starting pitching internally, leading to the club signing outside resources to cover the gap. Even though that narrative is gradually shifting with more homegrown players catching the eyes of various prospect watchers, the Blue Jays had to bring in free agents to combat their roster deficiencies. The answer to the Blue Jays’ rotation questions was Chris Bassit, Kevin Gausman and Max Scherzer, who have helped the Blue Jays start with a combined 448 1/3 innings pitched for the 2025 season.

Eric Lauer has been the wild card that helped Toronto find another reliable starter while the team was trying to figure out how to fill the gap that Bowden Francis, Alek Manoah and Scherzer left with injuries. Lauer pitched 104 2/3 innings for the Blue Jays and secured nine wins, which played an important role in pushing the team to the top of the league and division.

For bullpen depth, Justin Bruihl, Yariel Rodríguez and Jeff Hoffman certainly helped prevent late-inning runs, although all three shared their struggles in putting runners on base. In Hoffman’s case, his home run rate hasn’t been at its best, which has inflated his season numbers, despite 33 saves.

Ernie Clement’s signing back in 2023 has turned out to be one of the better decisions, especially this season, with a slashline of .277/.313/.398 in 588 plate appearances and nine home runs. He was also lethal against left-handed pitching, which gave the Blue Jays more platoon advantage when the team faced tough lefties.

On the flip side, Anthony Santander’s free-agent signing hasn’t quite panned out in its first year, with the designated hitter going on an extended injury leave for most of the year. He may not have performed well at the plate either, with an underwhelming slashline of .175/.271/.294, but the Blue Jays will certainly look towards Santander to provide more power in the lineup for this playoff.

However, the free-agent signing that really stood out was George Springer, as the outfielder turned his narrative around by slashing .309 /.399/.560 with 32 home runs this season. Without Springer’s renaissance, the Blue Jays would have had a harder time making the push for a better record, let alone a playoff run. This signing back in 2020 may end up becoming the game-changer the Blue Jays need to secure at least one playoff win since 2016.

Homegrown (7) 

Addison Barger, Bo Bichette, Mason Fluharty, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Alejandro Kirk, Davis Schneider, Trey Yesavage

Unlike in the years past, the Blue Jays finally saw some surges in their homegrown players, aside from Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. For the most part, this year’s successful run was possible because Bichette and Guerrero Jr. did live up to their expectations. Bichette, in particular, has been an RBI machine with runners on base when healthy, which helped the Blue Jays beat their RISP woes that dogged them last year.

But some of the most important offensive surges came from Addison Barger, Nathan Lukes and Davis Schneider, who have turned into key contributors this season. Braydon Fisher and Mason Fluharty have been revelations for a bullpen that needed unlikely heroes, and both have handled pressure-packed late-inning jams with grace on more than a couple of occasions.

Alejandro Kirk’s rebound has also been critical in the Blue Jays’ success. His slashline was now at .282/.348/.421, compared to last year (.253/.319/.359), and his framing and defensive abilities have also topped the league among all MLB catchers.

One of the more recent emergences that solidified the Blue Jays’ late-season wins was Trey Yesavage,  who was drafted in 2024. Yesavage has seen one of the fastest rises through the minors and earned his first major-league win against the Tampa Bay Rays in the last regular-season series.  With uncertainties around Bassitt’s return to the ALDS and Berríos’ move to the bullpen, his performance is set to become even more vital for the Blue Jays, who are slated to face the ever-dominating New York Yankees in a five-game faceoff.

Waiver Claim (2)

Tyler Heineman, Isiah Kiner-Falefa

Tyler Heineman has been an unsung hero on the Blue Jays’ roster this year.  The switch-hitting catcher has also had his better offensive seasons with a slashline of .289/.361/.416 and 20 RBIs. With these unlikely and promising contributions from Heineman, the Blue Jays became one of the top teams with better catching tandems across the league.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa have been a late-season waiver claim for the Blue Jays, but has already helped the team defensively and offensively through his contact ability. His presence stabilizes the team’s defence, as the Blue Jays eye to advance through the ALDS.4