Biggest Concern for Blue Jays as Spring Training Continues in Dunedin
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It has been quite an offseason for the Toronto Blue Jays who have revamped their starting rotation but have also taken some blows. Their biggest loss is easily regarding their homegrown hero, Bo Bichett,e who will now be playing for the New York Mets.
Bichette wasn't the only loss that the Blue Jays' infield suffered, as Isiah Kiner-Falefa is suiting up for their division rival Boston Red Sox, in 2026. So, Toronto is severely lacking depth up the middle and is also counting on a struggling Andrés Giménez to come through at the plate.
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Giménez isn't necessarily the only question surrounding the hitting lineup of infielders as this will only be the first time that their newest utility man, Kazuma Okamoto, will step onto a Major League field. Okamota was exceptional overseas last year as he hit over .320 in Japan, but this will be his debut against some of the best arms in the world.
It wouldn't be surprising to see Giménez dealt before this year's trade deadline, but let's hope it doesn't come to that. For now, there is a chance that one of the non-roster invites that is in Florida for spring training could fill into a bench role for the infield.
Training has officially commenced, and the ballclub extended invites to 20 non-roster players inside the organization, seven of whom are infielders. With the only position solidly locked in as first, they are begging for a player to earn a roster spot in the coming weeks.
Infield Options to Watch For
With Ernie Clement, Okamoto, and Giménez all able to play pretty much anywhere, there is availability for any one of these prospects to step in without the added pressure of stepping away from a position that they are comfortable in.
Two to keep an eye on in the coming weeks are Riley Tirotta and Cutter Coffey, neither of whom have made their Major League debuts yet, but are inching closer and closer.
Tirotta is the lone prospect listed that spent the entirety of 2025 in Triple-A. During his time in Buffalo, he played in 116 games where he slashed .268/.359/.417 and tallied up 12 homers, 60 runs brought in, while drawing 53 walks.
Swing transformation
— Prospect Performance Academy (@PPA_Ohio) February 5, 2026
2020➡️2026@TirottaR (Blue Jays)
Thousands of hours, thousands of reviewing ABs & a high standard for the work put in daily brings these type of results. pic.twitter.com/BWb5dIkIE5
Coffey on the other hand, stayed in Single-A+ but was sent to the Arizona Fall League, where he played amongst the best that any organization's pipeline had to offer. Once down there, he batted .328 to complement an on-base percentage of .427.
There are options within the Blue Jays ballclub that they can look to in order to address this issue with their roster. If management isn't able to secure another player, or two, the infield could end up being the Achilles heel to their season.
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Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.