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Max Scherzer Exits Start With Lat Soreness

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Future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer exited his first start as a member of the Blue Jays after just 45 pitches, and Toronto later announced that his departure was due to soreness in his right lat.

As noted by Keegan Matheson of MLB.com, Scherzer battled a thumb issue throughout Spring Training that appeared to be connected to the nerve issue that limited the veteran with the Rangers last season. Throughout camp, Matheson relays that Scherzer indicated that pitching through the thumb issue increased the risk of other injury issues and specifically highlighted his shoulder as a possible area of concern. Scherzer went on to confirm that the issue is related to his thumb, telling reporters (including Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet) that after three innings he told manager John Schneider that there was “imminent danger” of a more serious injury if he continued to pitch.

While Scherzer noted that he and the team’s doctors have not yet figured out next steps, it sounds as though a trip to the injured list is likely in the right-hander’s future. As relayed by Matheson, Scherzer at the very least won’t be making his next scheduled start. He was next in line for a start on April 4 against the Mets in New York, though his status for games beyond that has not yet been announced. The veteran noted that he’ll need to get the thumb issue “to 100%” before he pitches again, and expressed frustration over the circumstances while emphasizing the importance of getting his thumb right.

“My arm is making adjustments because of that [thumb injury],” Scherzer said, as relayed by Matheson. “That’s a recipe for disaster.”

With an off-day scheduled for April 3, the Blue Jays won’t need another starter until April 8. That gives Scherzer just over a week to get right before he’d next be needed in the rotation, but it seems possible that the issue will take longer to resolve than that. Should Scherzer require a trip to the IL, Yariel Rodriguez could step into the rotation from the bullpen or the club could consider turning the vacant spot in the rotation over to youngster Jake Bloss. It seems likely the exact length of Scherzer’s absence won’t be available for at least a few days, though it’s possible a decision about the injured list could come early next week given that IL stints can be backdated a maximum of just three days.

Regardless of how long Scherzer ends up missing, the news has the potential to be a huge blow for a Blue Jays club that is attempting to claw its way out of fifth place in a deep AL East division to make it back to the postseason in what could be the final year franchise fixtures Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette spend in Toronto. Scherzer was one of the club’s most notable additions this winter alongside second baseman Andres Gimenez and Anthony Santander, and his addition was made in the hope that he could deepen a rotation that lost Yusei Kikuchi at the 2024 trade deadline.

While the righty has not been the same pitcher who finished top 5 in his league’s Cy Young award voting in seven consecutive seasons from 2013 to 2019 in recent years, he still sports a solid 3.81 ERA over his last 36 starts and looked like a front of the rotation arm as recently as 2022. That was enough to sell the Blue Jays on the idea the veteran could upgrade their rotation as long as he managed to stay healthy, but so far his nagging thumb issue has made that a challenge. After largely avoiding the injured list throughout the vast majority of his career, Scherzer has made just 59 starts over the past three seasons with the Mets and Rangers and now appears on track to miss more time for the Jays.

Jay Jackson To Retire

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After a professional career that spanned 17 years, veteran right-hander Jay Jackson is hanging up his glove. Robert Murray of FanSided reported this afternoon that Jackson is retiring from his playing career, adding that the 37-year-old hopes to have a second act in baseball, whether that comes by working for a team or in broadcasting.

Jackson was selected by the Cubs in the ninth-round of the 2008 MLB draft and made his pro debut later the summer at 20 years old. A fringe top-100 prospect entering the 2010 season after he pitched to a 2.98 ERA in 24 starts across three levels of the Chicago farm system, Jackson spent the next three seasons struggling at the Triple-A level without breaking into the majors. He was eventually released by the Cubs in early 2013 and bounced between the Marlins, Pirates, and Brewers before eventually landing with the Padres prior to the 2015 season. In San Diego, the right-hander moved to a full-time bullpen role and dominated the Double- and Triple-A levels, earning the opportunity to pitch in the majors for the first time in his career.

Jackson’s first big league cup of coffee did not go especially well, as he surrendered three runs in 4 1/3 innings across six appearances. Even so, the opportunity was enough to get the righty noticed by the Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He pitched for the Carp for three seasons, from 2016 to 2018, and put together an impressive resume with a sterling 2.11 ERA and a 26.9% strikeout rate in 175 NPB innings. That work earned him his second big league opportunity, as he returned to the Brewers organization and pitched to a 4.45 ERA across 30 1/3 innings of work in 2019, but it was only after a second sojourn to Japan (this time as a member of the Chiba Lotte Marines) in 2020 that Jackson was able to stick in the majors.

After signing with the Giants in 2021 for his age-33 season, Jackson enjoyed a late-career stretch of success in the majors. Though he pitched just 52 2/3 innings at the big league level for San Francisco, Atlanta, and Toronto from 2021 to 2023, Jackson posted an excellent 2.73 ERA across those 50 appearances and struck out 26.5% of his opponents. That was enough to earn Jackson a look from the Twins last year in his age-36 season, though he struggled badly with a 7.52 ERA across 20 appearances before being released by Minnesota last year. Jackson initially signed with the Mexican League’s Bravos de Leon earlier this month in an effort to continue his playing career, but evidently has now decided to wrap up his days as a player instead.

Overall, Jackson pitched to a lifetime 4.43 ERA (97 ERA+) with a 4.47 FIP across 113 2/3 major league innings, with a 7-4 record and 136 strikeouts in 104 career games. That’s in addition to his excellent years in Japan, where he posted a 2.16 ERA and struck out 204 batters in 183 NPB innings. We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Jackson on his nearly two decades of work in baseball and wish him all the best in whatever comes next.

Blue Jays DFA Zach Pop, Tommy Nance, Nick Robertson

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The Blue Jays revealed their Opening Day roster this morning and, in the process, announced that they have designated three right-handed pitchers for assignment: Zach Pop, Tommy Nance, and Nick Robertson. The three DFAs make room for right-hander Jacob Barnes and outfielders Alan Roden and Myles Straw on the 40-man roster. The Blue Jays had already confirmed their intention to select Barnes, Roden, and Straw, and today, they made the decision official. In addition, the Blue Jays formally placed right-handers Erik Swanson and Ryan Burr on the 15-day IL and center fielder Daulton Varsho on the 10-day IL. The team had already announced that Swanson, Burr, and Varsho would miss the beginning of the season.

Pop, 28, has pitched for the Marlins and Blue Jays throughout his four-year MLB career. In that time, he has a 4.45 ERA and 3.94 SIERA across 155 2/3 innings of work. He was electric after Toronto acquired him at the 2022 trade deadline, pitching to a 1.89 ERA in 17 appearances down the stretch. However, he has struggled at the big league level in each of the past two seasons, pitching to a 5.81 ERA in 73 total appearances. His 4.31 SIERA is better but still not especially promising. The righty is a groundball pitcher who does not miss many bats. His home run rate over the past two years (1.89 HR/9) is far too high for a pitcher who also issues his fair share of walks. To make matters worse, Pop was set to begin the season on Toronto’s injured list with elbow discomfort that arose this spring.

Nance, now 34, made his MLB debut with the Cubs at age 30 in 2021. He has had somewhat of an up-and-down career to this point. His rookie season was rough, but he looked like a capable low-leverage reliever over 43 2/3 innings with the Marlins in 2022. Then, injuries kept him out for much of 2023. He signed a minor league deal with the Padres last offseason and failed to make his way back to the majors in San Diego. Yet, after a late-summer trade to Toronto, he looked perfectly serviceable once again, pitching to a 4.09 ERA and 3.96 SIERA in 22 innings of lower-leverage work. He leads with a curveball and a sinker, a good approach for inducing groundballs, but hasn’t been able to consistently induce outs and strand baserunners at the highest level.

Robertson, 26, has already pitched for four different teams over his two MLB seasons, suiting up for the Dodgers and Red Sox in 2023 and the Cardinals and Blue Jays in 2024. He also pitched in the Angels’ system in between his stints with St. Louis and Toronto. The right-hander has a 5.30 ERA but a 3.52 SIERA in 35 2/3 career MLB frames. He has shown the ability to pitch multiple innings out of the bullpen as needed, but his performance has been poor at both the major and minor league levels since he left the Dodgers organization as part of the Enrique Hernández deadline trade in 2023. At times in the minors, Robertson has shown sharp strikeout stuff, but he has struggled in recent years to consistently rack up strikeouts and limit walks. He has one option year remaining, which could make him a bit more appealing to a club in need of bullpen help.

The Blue Jays will enter 2025 with something of a new-look bullpen, led by free agent acquisition and 2024 All-Star Jeff Hoffman. Other new pieces include Yimi García, who is back after a brief stint with the Mariners; Nick Sandlin, whom the Blue Jays acquired as part of the Andrés Giménez trade; and Richard Lovelady, who, like Barnes, signed a minor league deal with the club this offseason. Toronto selected his contract last week.

Blue Jays Make New Contract Offer To Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

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The Blue Jays have made another contract offer to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., reports Buster Olney of ESPN. No specifics of the offer have been publicly reported but Olney says a gap remains between the two sides.

The will-they-won’t-they between the Jays and Guerrero has been playing out for years now, but with a special focus on the drama this winter. Guerrero is now slated for free agency after the 2025 season, which begins today for the Jays. It’s common for players to set Opening Day as a deadline in contract talks, to avoid distractions during the season. Guerrero initially went a step further and set a deadline of February 18, the opening of Spring Training.

That day came and went without a deal getting done, though Guerrero subsequently said he would keep the door open if the Jays wanted to come back to the table. Reportedly, Guerrero’s asking price was a deal of at least 14 years and worth $500MM. The Jays reportedly did make him an offer in February with a sticker price of $500MM, but with deferrals that would knock the net present value down to the $400-450MM range. Guerrero is said to be open to deferrals generally but would still like the NPV to get to that $500MM line.

In a sense, that $50-100MM gap is not large. For a deal of that length, that’s about $3.5MM to $7MM annually. In an annual baseball budget, that’s what clubs spend on a veteran reliever or a backup catcher. That would appear to be a bridgeable gap. That’s perhaps especially true when looking at the broader picture. Guerrero has been the face of the franchise for many years now. The Jays have tried to sign other marquee players like Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto and Roki Sasaki but without success.

The regime of president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins has seemingly left a large segment of the fanbase discontent. There has been a lot of regular season success in recent years but the Jays have been swept in all of their most recent playoff appearances. Many things went wrong in 2024, which exacerbated the frustration.

Letting Guerrero walk for a relatively small financial gap would likely be unwelcome from a public relations perspective, whereas getting a deal done on Opening Day could theoretically provide a nice boost to fan morale.

The front office seems to view the situation as one that can be resolved. Shapiro recently expressed confidence that a deal would get done, either an extension or later in free agency. That was an unusual bit of candor, since front office types usually duck questions about ongoing negotiations. Atkins made somewhat similar comments yesterday, per Hazel Mae of Sportsnet and Keegan Matheson of MLB.com.

Presumably, this new offer from the Jays has moved closer to Guerrero’s asking price. Though as mentioned, no details have been publicly reported. A deal in this range would be fairly unprecedented, for the Jays or any other club.

As of a few months ago, no player had received a contract with an NPV at $500MM or higher. At the start of the 2024-25 offseason, the largest deal on record was Ohtani’s ten-year, $700MM pact with the Dodgers. Thanks to the heavy deferrals in that deal, Major League Baseball calculated the AAV as $46.06MM with the MLBPA at $43.78MM, meaning the NPV on the deal was roughly $437-460MM. Even those reduced numbers were all records, in terms of largest guarantee and largest AAV ever.

Each of those numbers is now a distant second, thanks to Soto’s deal. He got $765MM over 15 years with no deferrals, meaning his net present value shattered Ohtani’s. The AAV on that is $51MM, which also went notably beyond Ohtani’s deferral-adjusted AAV.

A hypothetical deal worth $500MM over 14 years would be a $35.7MM AAV. That would be well below Soto and Ohtani but still put Guerrero in the top 15 of all contracts by AAV, ahead of players like Carlos Correa, Francisco Lindor and Mookie Betts. The total guarantee would be second all-time, when adjusting Ohtani’s down.

Guerrero hasn’t been quite as elite as Ohtani or Soto but still has a strong track record for a player his age. Many top prospects don’t reach the majors until their mid-20s but Guerrero just turned 26 earlier this month, which is a huge part of his earning power. He already has 819 games under his belt with 160 home runs, a .288/.363/.500 batting line and 137 wRC+. He was even better than that in both 2021 and 2024. Though he dipped a bit in the two seasons in between, he hit .323/.396/.544 for a 165 wRC+ last year. He’s not an especially strong defender at first but he has accomplished a lot with the bat already. If he and the Jays can’t work out a new deal, he will be one of the top free agents of next year’s class.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images

Blue Jays Extend Alejandro Kirk

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The Blue Jays announced Tuesday that they’ve signed catcher Alejandro Kirk to a five-year extension covering the 2026-30 seasons. He’ll reportedly be guaranteed $58MM on the deal. Kirk was already signed for the current season at $4.6MM. The new contract buys out his final season of arbitration and four free-agent seasons. Kirk is represented by Vayner Sports.

Kirk, 26, is entering the first season of his career where he’ll be the uncontested primary catcher for the Blue Jays after years of sharing time with some combination of Reese McGuire, Gabriel Moreno, and Danny Jansen.

Signed out of Tijuana, Mexico in international free agency, Kirk made his pro debut back in 2017 and reached the majors in time for a nine-game cup of coffee in 2020 that was then expanded to a 60-game stint as the club’s third catcher behind McGuire and Jansen. He hit a robust .259/.336/.455 in 214 trips to the plate across those 69 games before finally earning a more regular role with the club in 2022.

He made the most of the opportunity, delivering an All-Star campaign and winning a Silver Slugger award behind the plate. In 541 trips to the plate that year, Kirk slashed an incredible .285/.372/.415 with a wRC+ of 129. In conjunction with his elite framing and blocking abilities, Kirk managed to post an excellent 4.3 fWAR that tied with Will Smith for the fourth-highest figure of any catcher that season. The sensational performance seemed to solidify Kirk’s status as the club’s catcher of the future, and helped prompt them to trade top prospect Gabriel Moreno to the Diamondbacks alongside Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in exchange for an elite defensive outfielder in Daulton Varsho.

Unfortunately, things haven’t quite gone according to plan in that regard. Kirk’s put up relatively pedestrian numbers at the plate over the past two seasons, slashing just .251/.327/.358 with a 95 wRC+. That’s certainly not bad for a catcher, and Kirk’s elite defensive numbers have allowed him to remain a two-to-three win player even as he’s taken a step back offensively. With that solid floor established and the tantalizing upside of his 2022 season still at least theoretically in reach, the Blue Jays have opted to pounce on the opportunity to lock Kirk up long-term. In doing so, they’ve given Kirk a deal that slightly eclipses the one Royals catcher Salvador Perez signed prior to the 2016 season, which guaranteed him $52.5MM.

Besides Perez, the only other extension signed within the past decade by a catcher with between four and five years of MLB service that came with a guarantee of even $5MM was that of Smith with the Dodgers last year, which guaranteed Smith $131.45MM in new money over nine years. That’s a significantly higher sum than Kirk received, although it should be noted that Smith signed for nearly twice as long as Kirk and the deferred money in the deal reduced the net present value of the deal to around $114.5MM after factoring in the money Smith was already owed for last season. Given their similarly high ceilings, it’s not necessarily a surprise that Kirk’s $11.6MM AAV is in the same ballpark as the approximately $12.25 AAV Smith received on his deal last season even as Kirk’s volatility in recent years compared to Smith’s more steadfast production led Kirk’s deal to be capped at just five seasons. That shortened term also provides Kirk the flexibility to potentially get a bite at the free agent apple later in his career that could prove quite lucrative if he manages to rediscover the offensive form he flashed in 2022 over the next few seasons.

For now, however, the Blue Jays have locked Kirk up as a fixture of the franchise for the rest of the decade, a roll he’ll share with offseason additions Andres Gimenez and Anthony Santander. The move keeps a homegrown talent in the fold long-term, offering some much-needed continuity for the organization ahead of a 2025 season that could be the last one both Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette spend in Toronto. Kirk’s strong work behind the plate should continue to benefit Jays pitchers, both veterans like Jose Berrios and Kevin Gausman as well as youngsters like Bowden Francis and Jake Bloss, for years to come, and if he can recapture his offensive form from 2022 he’d be a rare two-way catcher who can double as a defensive stalwart and middle-of-the-order bat.

Fansided’s Robert Murray first reported the agreement and the terms. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic added additional financial details.

Blue Jays To Select Jacob Barnes, Alan Roden, Myles Straw

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The Blue Jays have all but officially set their Opening Day roster, as manager John Schneider told reporters (including Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi and MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson) that right-hander Jacob Barnes, and outfielders Alan Roden, Myles Straw, and Nathan Lukes will all break camp with the team.  The first three of those names aren’t on Toronto’s 40-man roster, so some 40-man space will have to be carved out so the Jays can officially select their contracts.

Barnes and Richard Lovelady (whose minor league contract was selected earlier this week) will fill two bullpen spots left open by injuries, as right-handers Erik Swanson, Zach Pop, and Ryan Burr will all start the season on the injured list.  Swanson’s recovery from a median nerve entrapment in his throwing arm might not take too much longer, as Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling writes that Swanson has started some baseball-related activities and should start throwing off a mound in another 1-2 weeks.  Pop is dealing with discomfort in his throwing elbow and Burr has shoulder fatigue, and it remains unclear if either of these injuries might require a 60-day IL stint, which would open up room on the 40-man.

Barnes is an Article XX(b) free agent, so yesterday was the first of three opt-out dates that Barnes had baked into his minor league contract.  The Blue Jays will avoid that issue entirely by placing Barnes on the Opening Day roster, putting the righty on the verge of appearing in his 10th Major League season.  The veteran will now lock in a $1.4MM salary for the 2025 campaign.

Barnes has pitched for nine different teams during his journeyman career, including a brief stint with the Jays back in 2021.  Last year with the Nationals, Barnes posted a 4.36 ERA, 19.9% strikeout rate, and 7.2% walk rate over 66 innings.

Since Daulton Varsho is starting the season on the injured list, some level of outfield depth was required to handle center field while Varsho is on the shelf.  The Blue Jays’ lack of a set DH also created extra room for more players to find their way into the lineup, so the outfield trio of Lukes, Straw, and Roden will all be heading north after competing for what seemed to be perhaps just one bench spot heading into camp.

Lukes has appeared in 51 games for the Jays over the last two seasons, and Straw is looking to revive his career after being outrighted off the Guardians’ roster.  Acquired in a controversial salary dump of a trade seemingly tied to the Blue Jays’ unsuccessful pursuit of Roki Sasaki, Toronto took on $11MM of the remaining salary owed to Straw through the 2026 season, as per the terms of the five-year, $25MM extension he signed with Cleveland in 2022.  While that money didn’t guarantee Straw a roster spot, his strong defense makes him a worthy fill-in for Varsho’s elite center field glove, so it seems like Straw and Lukes could form a platoon until Varsho is healthy.

Roden will also see some time in center field, with Schneider telling Matheson and company that Roden will be deployed in the other two outfield slots and at DH to give him a good dose of regular playing time.  Anthony Santander or George Springer could be subsequently given DH days when Roden is in the field, in order to keep the two veterans fresh.

A third-round pick for the Blue Jays in the 2022 draft, Roden will be making his Major League whenever he appears in his first game.  The outfielder hit .314/.406/.510 with nine homers over 286 plate appearances with Triple-A Buffalo last season, in the latest step of what has been something of a two-year tear through minor league pitching.  Roden then posted huge numbers in Spring Training, putting himself squarely in the picture for a roster spot.

MLB Pipeline ranks Roden as the fifth-best prospect in Toronto’s farm system, citing him as a possible leadoff hitter for the Jays as early as this season due to his advanced on-base and baserunning skills.  Roden also has some power, and has increased his exit velocity over the last two minor league seasons.  Roden is a left-handed hitter, which also helps his case to earn playing time in a Jays lineup that tilts to the right side.

Ryan Yarbrough Opts Out Of Minors Deal With Blue Jays

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TODAY: Yarbrough has now become a free agent, after being told he wasn’t making the Jays’ Opening Day roster, Davidi reports.

MARCH 21: Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough is going to trigger his upcoming opt-out in his minor league deal with the Blue Jays, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. The team has until 1pm Central on Sunday to decide whether or not to add him to the roster. If they don’t give him a spot, he will become a free agent.

Yarbrough is an Article XX(b) free agent, which is any player with at least six years of service who finished the previous season on a major league roster or injured list. Such players have guaranteed opt-out dates on minor league deals signed at least ten days prior to Opening Day. The first of those opt-out dates is five days prior to Opening Day, which will be tomorrow. The others are May 1 and June 1. When a player triggers an opt-out, the club has 48 hours to decide how to respond.

The lefty has carved out a nice career for himself despite a lack of velo or punchouts. He has 768 big league innings under his belt so far, having allowed 4.21 earned runs per nine. His 18.7% strikeout rate is a few ticks below par but his 5.5% walk rate is quite good and his Statcast page shows that his average exit velocity and hard hit rate are regularly among the best in the league. Some of that work has come as a starter, some as a bulk guy behind an opener and some as a more traditional long reliever.

The Jays got a close-up look at him late last year, acquiring him from the Dodgers in a deadline swap for Kevin Kiermaier. Yarbrough tossed 31 1/3 innings over 12 relief appearances with a 2.01 ERA. He lingered on the market unsigned until the middle of February, when the Jays brought him back via a minor league deal. That deal reportedly pays him $2MM if he cracks the big leagues. In Grapefruit League action, he has tossed 6 2/3 innings, allowed three earned runs, with eight strikeouts and one walk.

The Jays project to have a rotation of José Berríos, Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt and Bowden Francis. If healthy, Max Scherzer would have a spot as well. He’s been dealing with some thumb soreness lately. That doesn’t sound too serious but thumb soreness seemed to be a symptom of a larger nerve problem in his arm last year.

Earlier today, manager John Schneider relayed to reporters that Scherzer will pitch for the Jays against the Twins in Fort Myers tomorrow. Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet was among those to relay the news. The skipper said that Scherzer wanted to make the two-hour bus ride in order to face real major league hitters. His aim is to throw 60 to 65 pitches and be on the roster to start the season if all goes well.

If Scherzer is healthy, then Yariel Rodríguez is likely in the bullpen as the long reliever. If not, then Rodríguez perhaps jumps into that fifth spot. It’s also possible that the Jays would prefer to have Yarbrough as a long man, but with Rodríguez pitching in a more traditional single-inning relief role. He posted a 1.15 ERA in that kind of role in Japan in 2022 but started for the Jays last year, posting a 4.47 ERA.

Perhaps the Jays will hold off making a decision on Yarbrough until they see how Scherzer pitches tomorrow and how he feels the day after. If they decide to add Yarbrough, they will have to make a corresponding move to get him onto the 40-man.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images

Daulton Varsho To Begin Season On Blue Jays’ Injured List

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After undergoing rotator cuff last September, Daulton Varsho’s status for Spring Training or Opening Day was up in the air, with the general expectation being that the center fielder would need to miss at least some time at the start of the season.  Blue Jays manager John Schneider confirmed Varsho’s IL status to reporters (including Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi and Arden Zwelling) today, though the belief is that Varsho should be able to make his 2025 debut before the first month of the season is over.

Varsho has been able to play as a DH during Spring Training, and he has posted some big numbers in this somewhat limited capacity.  Simply using Varsho as a designated hitter until his shoulder fully heals isn’t an ideal situation, of course, since the Jays don’t want to do anything to aggravate the injury, and so much of Varsho’s import comes as a defensive player.  Varsho won his first career Gold Glove last season, and was recognized by the Fielding Bible as the best overall defender in all of baseball.

While sidelined, Varsho will continue to work at the Jays’ spring complex in Dunedin, with Zwelling writing that Varsho will play in simulated games and in official minor league games.  If all goes well, Varsho will start a proper rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo before returning to the Blue Jays’ active roster.

As to who will play center field until Varsho is ready, it appears the competition is down to Nathan Lukes, Myles Straw, and Alan Roden.  Zwelling notes that the Jays want Roden (who has yet to make his MLB debut) to play on a regular basis, which could hint that Roden might instead be used in an everyday role in Buffalo rather than in what might be a platoon role in Toronto.  Roden may not have much less to prove after posting big minor league numbers in 2023-24, plus he has been making a strong case for a roster job with some impressive spring numbers.

Lukes and Straw could operate in a center-field platoon, as Varsho’s placement on the IL will naturally open up another roster spot.  The Jays also made more cuts by optioning Joey Loperfido (once also a candidate for part-time center field work) and Leo Jimenez to Triple-A yesterday, and Schneider said today that Davis Schneider and Tyler Heineman will both break camp with the team.  Schneidrer will work as backup or part-time player at second base and in left field, while Heineman will back up starting catcher Alejandro Kirk.

In other Jays roster news, Davidi reports that Eric Lauer’s minor league deal contains an assignment clause that can be exercised tomorrow.  Should Lauer use the clause, other teams can reach out to the Jays within a 48-hour window to express interest in adding Lauer to their active rosters, and Toronto then have 48 hours to decide whether to move Lauer or add him to the Blue Jays’ own roster.

Lauer split the 2024 season pitching in the KBO League and at the Triple-A level with the Astros and Pirates organization, thus marking his first season without any MLB action since 2017.  From 2018-23 with the Padres and Brewers, Lauer had a 4.30 ERA over 596 2/3 innings, operating primarily as a starting pitcher.  An injury-plagued 2023 campaign ended his stint in Milwaukee, and he is now looking to rebound in at least a depth role on a big league roster.  Should he remain with the Blue Jays, Lauer will be one of the team’s top options at Triple-A should an injury hit anyone in the projected starting rotation.

Blue Jays’ Shapiro On Guerrero Jr.: “I Think We’re Going To Extend Him”

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Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s self-imposed deadline for an extension — the first full day of spring training — came and went more than a month ago, with no deal coming to fruition. Guerrero has left the door slightly cracked, indicating that while he doesn’t plan to negotiate any further, he’d be amenable to hearing the Jays out if they presented a new offer. That mindset is all the more notable now, given that Jays CEO Mark Shapiro flatly stated this morning that he expects to eventually agree to an extension with the team’s star first baseman (via Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi). Said Shapiro:

“…I guess my overarching feeling is one of optimism. I think we’re going to sign him. I think we’re going to extend him. The reason I feel that way is because we have such a clear alignment on the desired outcome. Vlad wants to play his whole career as a Toronto Blue Jay. We want him to end his career in a Blue Jays uniform to be a true legacy player for the Toronto Blue Jays. … Could be before free agency, could be during free agency, but I’m optimistic we will sign him.”

Guerrero himself reacted to Shapiro’s comments, per Hazel Mae and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet: “I’ve always felt good about the whole thing. I’m good with that. Just going to keep working very hard and be optimistic, too. Not going to shut the door on them… I’ll be open. But I’m going to leave that to my agents to work with that. If there’s something there, they’re going to continue to work with that. I’m just going to be on the field, focusing on my teammates, on my team, on my game.”

Details surrounding both Guerrero’s asking price and the Blue Jays’ most recent offer have trickled out in the weeks since his deadline passed. Guerrero himself made clear he wasn’t seeking anything close to Juan Soto’s $765MM guarantee with the Mets; he sought under $600MM in guaranteed money over a 14- or 15-year deal. Subsequent reporting from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of the New York Post, and Davidi shed further light on negotiations. Guerrero reportedly sought a net-present value of $500MM, and while the Jays are said to have offered a figure close to $500MM, deferred money pushed the present-day value down closer to $450MM.

Though that paints a broad picture of where things stand, Shapiro cautioned today (without citing specifically reported numbers) that the gap isn’t quite as straightforward as the ostensible $50MM separating the reported offer and asking price. “That’s an oversimplification based upon only part of the information,” Shapiro said (via MLB.com’s Keegan Mattheson).

Shapiro’s candor and optimistic tone on eventually hammering out a long-term deal come not long after Hector Gomez of the Dominican Republic’s Z101 Sports reported that the Jays are preparing a new offer for Guerrero. While it’s still not clear whether a new offer will be made prior to Opening Day, Shapiro’s comments do lend some credence to the idea that a new proposal could be forthcoming before long.

Despite the fact that he just turned 26 this past Sunday, Guerrero is entering his final season of club control. He’ll earn $28.5MM in 2025 after avoiding arbitration this winter. He’ll be a year older than Soto was when Soto hit the market, but Guerrero is nevertheless poised to reach free agency with a rare blend of youth and premium offensive track record.

Although the first two seasons of Guerrero’s career — his age-20 and age-21 efforts — were “only” a bit above average, he broke out with an MVP-caliber performance in 2021. His 2022-23 production was very strong but not quite up to that 2021 standard. He bounced back to elite levels in 2024. Overall, since that 2021 breakout, Guerrero has turned in a monstrous .293/.370/.517 batting line with 136 home runs in 2783 plate appearances — about 45% better than league average, by measure of wRC+.

Guerrero delivered nearly unrivaled batted-ball and bat speed grades last year while turning in a career-low 13.8% strikeout rate against a 10.3% walk rate that sits as the second-highest mark of his big league tenure. Per Statcast, he ranked in at least the 91st percentile of MLB hitters in barrel rate (91st percentile), bat speed (95th), hard-hit rate (97th), average exit velocity (98th), expected slugging percentage (98th) and expected wOBA (98th). No hitter in MLB had a higher maximum exit velocity or expected batting average.

Guerrero has also been extremely durable, trailing only Marcus Semien in total plate appearances since 2021. In that same span, he’s tied with Yordan Alvarez for the sixth-most homers in MLB and also sits sixth with 405 runs driven in. Guerrero ranks 10th in batting average, 11th in on-base percentage and 13th in slugging percentage over the past four years. Defense and baserunning are obvious strikes against him, but Guerrero has been one of MLB’s ten best hitters in the aggregate since Opening Day 2021 — including two seasons where he’s been flat-out elite.

Based on Guerrero’s premium bat-to-ball skills, bat speed and batted-ball metrics, there’s little reason to expect him to markedly decline in the near future. As with any mega-deal, the latter half of the contract is likely to be painful, but that’s generally accepted as the cost of doing business when signing star-caliber players of this nature in the heart of their prime.

36 Veteran Players With Looming Opt-Out Dates

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The 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement implemented a new series of uniform opt-out dates for players who qualified as free agents under Article XX(b) of said agreement and sign a minor league deal in free agency. More specifically, that designation falls on players with six-plus years of MLB service time who finished the preceding season on a major league roster or injured list. Some contracts for players coming over from a foreign professional league like Nippon Professional Baseball or the Korea Baseball Organization will also have language written into their contracts allowing them to qualify as an XX(b) free agent despite a lack of six years of service.

The three uniform opt-out dates on those contracts land five days before Opening Day, on May 1 and on June 1. With the regular season set to kick off next week, any Article XX(b) free agents who are in camp on minor league contracts will have the opportunity to opt out on Saturday, March 22. A player triggering one of these out clauses gives his current club 48 hours to either add him to the 40-man roster or let him become a free agent.

There are other ways to secure opt-outs in contracts, of course. Many players who don’t qualify for XX(b) designation will still have opt-out opportunities negotiated into their minor league deals in free agency.

The following is a list of 36 players who are in camp as non-roster invitees and will be able to opt out this weekend. Most were XX(b) free agents, but there are a handful of names who didn’t meet that requirement but had outs negotiated into their respective deals nonetheless. This is not a comprehensive list of all players with opt-out opportunities this weekend.

All spring stats referenced are accurate through the completion of games played Wednesday, March 19.

Astros: LHP Jalen Beeks

Beeks, 31, was a relatively late sign (March 7) who’s since tossed three spring frames — including two scoreless innings just yesterday. He logged a 4.50 ERA in 70 innings between the Rockies and Pirates last season. He struggled to miss bats last year but typically runs strong strikeout rates. Dating back to 2020, Beeks carries a 4.16 ERA in 192 2/3 innings. In Josh Hader, Bryan King and Bennett Sousa, the Astros already have three lefty relievers on the 40-man. Another veteran non-roster invitee, Steven Okert, has rattled off 8 2/3 shutout spring innings with a 14-to-2 K/BB ratio. Beeks might have long odds of cracking the roster.

Blue Jays: RHP Jacob Barnes, LHP Ryan Yarbrough

The 34-year-old Barnes logged a 4.36 ERA in a career-high 66 big league innings last season. He posted an ERA north of 5.00 in each of the five preceding seasons (a total of 115 1/3 frames). He’s been tagged for four runs in 5 1/3 innings this spring.

Yarbrough, 33, had a terrific run with the Jays to close out the 2024 season. Joining Toronto in a deadline swap sending Kevin Kiermaier to the Dodgers, the veteran southpaw posted a 2.01 ERA in 31 1/3 innings. He’s a soft-tosser, sitting just 86.5 mph with his heater, but Yarbrough can pitch multiple innings in relief and has a decent track record even beyond last year’s overall 3.19 earned run average (4.21 ERA in 768 MLB innings). He’s allowed three runs with and 8-to-1 K/BB ratio in 6 2/3 innings in camp.

Braves: RHP Buck Farmer, RHP Hector Neris

Farmer was already reassigned to minor league camp on Sunday, so there’d seem to be a good chance of him taking his out. The 34-year-old turned in a terrific 3.04 ERA in 71 innings for the Reds last year but was probably hampered by his age, pedestrian velocity and subpar command in free agency. With a 3.68 ERA in 193 innings over the past three seasons in Cincinnati, he should find an opportunity somewhere — even if it’s not in Atlanta.

Neris is still in Braves camp. He signed well into camp and thus has only pitched one official inning so far, which was scoreless. (Neris is pitching today as well.) He’s looking to bounce back from a 4.10 ERA and a particularly poor performance in save opportunities last year. Prior to his nondescript 2024, Neris rattled off a 3.03 ERA in 208 innings from 2021-23 between Philly and Houston, saving 17 games and collecting 67 holds along the way.

Brewers: 1B/OF Mark Canha, OF Manuel Margot

He’s had a brutal spring, but the 36-year-old Canha has been an above-average hitter every year since 2018, by measure of wRC+. He’s just 2-for-23 in Brewers camp, but he’s slugged a homer and walked as often as he’s fanned (four times apiece). Milwaukee has Rhys Hoskins at first base, but Canha could chip in at DH and offer a right-handed complement to lefty outfielders Sal Frelick and Garrett Mitchell.

Margot hasn’t hit well in a tiny sample of 35 spring plate appearances, but he’s outproduced Canha with a .250/.314/.375 slash. He’s coming off a dismal .238/.289/.337 showing in Minnesota, however, and hasn’t been the plus defender he was prior to a major 2022 knee injury. Like Canha, he could complement Frelick and Mitchell as a righty-swinging outfielder, but Canha has been the far more productive bat in recent seasons.

Cubs: RHP Chris Flexen

The Cubs reassigned Flexen to minor league camp after just 3 2/3 innings this spring. He was hit hard on the other side of town with the White Sox in 2024, though Flexen quietly righted the ship after an awful start. He posted a 5.69 ERA through nine starts but logged a 4.62 mark over his final 21 trips to the mound, including a tidy 3.52 earned run average across 46 innings in his last eight starts. Flexen may not bounce back to his 2021-22 numbers in Seattle, but he’s a durable fifth starter if nothing else.

Diamondbacks: INF/OF Garrett Hampson, RHP Scott McGough

The D-backs don’t really have a backup shortstop while Blaze Alexander is sidelined with an oblique strain, which seems to bode well for Hampson. He’s hitting .235/.333/.324 in camp and can play three infield spots and three outfield positions. He had a bleak .230/.275/.300 performance in Kansas City last year but was a league-average hitter for the Marlins as recently as 2023.

McGough was reassigned to minor league camp yesterday after serving up six runs in 4 2/3 innings of spring work. That wasn’t the follow-up to last year’s gruesome 7.44 ERA for which the 35-year-old righty or the team had hoped.

Giants: C Max Stassi, RHP Lou Trivino

Stassi is battling Sam Huff, who’s on the 40-man, for the backup catcher’s role while Tom Murphy is injured. The 34-year-old Stassi is hitting .300/.364/.700 with a pair of homers in 22 spring plate appearances. He’s a plus defender with a scattershot track record at the plate.

Trivino hasn’t pitched since 2022 due to Tommy John surgery and a separate shoulder issue. He also hasn’t allowed a run in 8 1/3 spring innings. (9-to-4 K/BB ratio). Trivino’s scoreless Cactus League showing, his pre-injury track record and his familiarity with skipper Bob Melvin — his manager in Oakland — all seem to give him a real chance to win a spot.

Mariners: RHP Shintaro Fujinami, RHP Trevor Gott, 1B Rowdy Tellez

Fujinami’s command has never been good, and he’s walked more batters (seven) than he’s struck out (four) through 5 2/3 spring innings. He’s also plunked a pair of batters. He’s looking to bounce back from an injury-ruined 2024 season but might have to take his first steps toward doing so in Triple-A.

Tellez has had a big camp and looks like he could have a real chance to make the club in a part-time DH/first base role, as explored more yesterday. Gott is on the mend from Tommy John surgery performed last March and won’t pitch until midseason. He’s unlikely to opt out.

Mets: RHP Jose Ureña

Ureña was torched for seven runs in his first 1 1/3 spring innings after signing with the Mets on Feb. 27. He bounced back by striking out all three opponents he faced in an inning this past weekend, but he hasn’t helped himself otherwise. Ureña’s 3.80 ERA in 109 innings with Texas last year was his first sub-5.00 ERA since 2017-18 in Miami.

Padres: 1B Yuli Gurriel, INF Jose Iglesias

Both veterans have a legitimate chance to make the club. Gurriel has had a productive spring (.296/.321/.519) at nearly 41 years of age, while Iglesias is out to a 5-for-18 start since signing in mid-March. Gurriel could split time at first and DH, lessening the need to use Luis Arraez in the field. Iglesias could see frequent work at second base, shifting Jake Cronenworth to first base and pushing Arraez to DH. The Padres probably wouldn’t have put a hefty (relative to most minor league deals) $3MM base salary on Iglesias’ deal if they didn’t see a real path to him making the roster.

Pirates: LHP Ryan Borucki

Borucki was great for the Pirates in 2023 and struggled through 11 innings during an injury-marred 2024 season. The 30-year-old southpaw has allowed one run in eight spring innings. His five walks are a bit much, but he’s also fanned 11 of his 33 opponents.

Rangers: SS Nick Ahmed, RHP David Buchanan, RHP Jesse Chavez, OF Kevin Pillar, RHP Hunter Strickland

Ahmed has more homers in 28 spring plate appearances than he had in 228 plate appearances in 2024 or 210 plate appearances in 2023. He’s popped three round-trippers already and slashed .286/.310/.607. With a crowded infield and versatile backups like Josh Smith and Ezequiel Duran, Ahmed might still have a hard time cracking the roster.

None of the three pitchers listed here has performed well in limited work. Buchanan had a nice run as a starter in the KBO in the four preceding seasons, while Chavez has been a mainstay in the Atlanta bullpen for much of the past few years. Strickland had a nice 2024 in Anaheim but signed very late and retired only one of the five batters he faced during his long spring outing.

Pillar may have the best chance of the bunch to make the team. He’s hitting .273/.333/.394 in 39 plate appearances. Outfielders Wyatt Langford and Adolis Garcia have been banged up this spring, so some extra outfield depth could make sense.

Rays: DH/OF Eloy Jimenez

Jimenez homered for the second time yesterday, boosting his Grapefruit line to .263/.300/.447. He’s coming off a dreadful season in 2024, but from 2019-23 the former top prospect raked at a .275/.324/.487 pace, including a 31-homer rookie campaign (admittedly, in the juiced-ball 2019 season). Durability has been a bigger factor than productivity. If the Rays can get Jimenez to elevate the ball more, he could be a bargain; he’s still only 28.

Red Sox: LHP Matt Moore, RHP Adam Ottavino

Moore signed on Feb. 20 and has only gotten into two spring games so far, totaling two innings. Ottavino has pitched four innings but allowed five runs. He’s walked five and tossed a pair of wild pitches in that time. Both pitchers have long MLB track records, but they’re both coming off lackluster seasons.

Reds: LHP Wade Miley

Miley underwent Tommy John surgery early last season and contemplated retirement upon learning his prognosis. He wanted to return to one of his former NL Central clubs in free agency, and the Reds clearly offered a more compelling minor league deal than the Brewers. He’s not going to be a realistic option until late May, and it seems unlikely he’d opt out while his rehab is still ongoing.

Rockies: RHP Jake Woodford

Woodford isn’t an Article XX(b) free agent, but MLBTR has learned that he still has a March 22 opt-out. He made his fourth appearance of Rockies camp yesterday, tossing 2 2/3 innings with an earned run. Woodford has allowed seven runs on 11 hits and three walks with five punchouts and a nice 47.2% grounder rate in 10 2/3 frames this spring. He has experience as a starter and reliever. The righty doesn’t miss many bats but keeps the ball on the ground and has good command. He’s a fifth starter/swingman who’s out of minor league options.

Royals: C Luke Maile, RHP Ross Stripling

Maile is a glove-first backup who’s had a nice spring at the plate but has done so on a team with a healthy Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin. His path to a roster spot doesn’t look great. Speculatively, his former Reds club, which just lost Tyler Stephenson to begin the year, would make sense if they plan to add an outside catcher. Maile’s .214/.294/.329 performance over the past three seasons is light, but he’s already familiar with the bulk of Cincinnati’s staff. He’s a fine backup or No. 3 catcher for any club, Kansas City included.

Stripling notched a 3.01 ERA in 124 innings for the 2022 Blue Jays, but it’s been rough waters since. He was rocked for a 5.68 ERA across the past two seasons, spending time with both Bay Area clubs, and has been tagged for 11 runs on 14 hits — four of them homers — with just two strikeouts in six spring frames. He’ll likely need a strong Triple-A showing, be it with the Royals or another club, to pitch his way back to the majors.

Tigers: LHP Andrew Chafin

Chafin surprisingly commanded only a minor league deal this offseason and has struggled to begin his third stint with the Tigers. He’s been tagged for eight runs in four spring innings, walking six batters along the way. It’s a rough look, but the affable southpaw notched a 3.51 ERA in 56 1/3 MLB frames last year and touts a 3.12 mark across the past four seasons combined.

White Sox: RHP Mike Clevinger, INF Brandon Drury, OF Travis Jankowski

The ChiSox signed Clevinger for a third time late this spring and are trying him in the bullpen. He’s responded with four shutout innings, allowing only one hit and no walks while fanning six hitters. His 2025 White Sox reunion is out to a much better start than his 2024 reunion, wherein he was limited to only 16 innings with a 6.75 ERA thanks to elbow and neck troubles.

Drury could hardly be doing more to secure a spot with the Pale Hose. He’s decimated Cactus League pitching at a .410/.439/.821 pace, slugging three homers and seven doubles in only 41 plate appearances. He’s coming off a terrible 2024 showing with the Angels but hit .263/.313/.493 from 2021-23. It’d be a surprise if the Sox didn’t keep him.

Jankowski started the spring with the Cubs, was granted his release and signed with the Sox. The hits haven’t been dropping, but he has six walks in 25 plate appearances. The White Sox already have Michael A. Taylor in a fourth outfield role. Andrew Benintendi, who missed three-plus weeks with a fractured hand, was back in the lineup yesterday, making Jankowski something of a long shot.

Yankees: RHP Carlos Carrasco

With a nice spring showing and several injuries in the Yankees’ rotation, Carrasco looks to have a good chance at making the roster. Jack Curry of the YES Network already reported it’s “likely” Carrasco will be added this weekend. Carrasco has a 1.69 ERA with 15 strikeouts and seven walks (plus four hit batters) in 16 spring innings. He tossed five shutout frames yesterday.

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