MINNEAPOLIS — Lock it in. The Blue Jays have announced their 26-man roster for the Wild Card Series with no surprises. Going with 14 position players and 12 pitchers, the Blue Jays included Cam Eden as a late-game speed and defense option, which was one of the final questions remaining. Fellow rookie Davis Schneider has also cracked the postseason roster, which he’ll add some pop to after his late breakthrough.
The only big name from the regular-season roster to be left off was Hyun Jin Ryu, but that was expected in a best-of-three series. Ryu, like several depth options the Blue Jays have traveling with them, will continue to stay ready in case a need arises due to injury.
Otherwise, the Blue Jays will roll out the usual suspects from one of MLB’s healthiest rosters in 2023. Catcher Danny Jansen is the only major injury the Blue Jays are dealing with right now, and he is still trying to make a push to return from that fractured right finger suffered on Sept. 1 in time to join a late postseason run. In his place, Alejandro Kirk will be the everyday starter, continuing the heavy workload he carried down the stretch.
On the pitching side, Yusei Kikuchi becomes an interesting moving piece. While Chris Bassitt still lines up for a potential Game 3, the Twins’ platoon-heavy lineup isn’t as strong against lefties, leaving the door open for Kikuchi to have a legitimate role in this series after a bounce-back 2023 season.
Here is the Blue Jays’ full roster:
C: Alejandro Kirk, Tyler Heineman
1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Brandon Belt
2B: Cavan Biggio, Davis Schneider, Santiago Espinal
SS: Bo Bichette
3B: Matt Chapman
UTIL: Whit Merrifield
OF: George Springer, Kevin Kiermaier, Daulton Varsho, Cam Eden
SP: Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Chris Bassitt, Yusei Kikuchi
RP: Jordan Romano, Jordan Hicks, Erik Swanson, Tim Mayza, Yimi García, Chad Green, Génesis Cabrera, Trevor Richards
Source: https://www.mlb.com/bluejays/news/blue-jays