Blue Jays Give Shot to Future Shortstop with Surprising Spring Training Invite
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The Toronto Blue Jays are going to be looking a little bit different next year after a dramatic offseason ultimately saw longtime shortstop Bo Bichette depart the team for the New York Mets.
By the sounds of it, Toronto did not try all that hard to bring Bichette back with the way things played out this winter, however losing him still hurts and seeing him in another uniform is never going to feel right. Regardless, with spring training fast approaching it's time for the Blue Jays to look to the future.
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Fans who will be seeing things firsthand in Dunedin got some big news this week for the shortstop position moving forward in the organization. With the release of the non-roster spring invitees, a very notable name found himself on it.
After an up-and-down first season in High-A, Toronto has included No. 3 prospect Arjun Nimmala in their list of invites to camp this spring, his chance to show he is closer to the Major Leagues than his second half of 2025 indicated.
Arjun Nimmala Headlines Blue Jays Spring Training Invites
OFFICIAL: We’ve invited the following internal non-roster players to #SpringTraining! pic.twitter.com/dT5a3gu3iN
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) January 21, 2026
In all likelihood, Nimmala is still a couple of years away, at least, from making his big league debut, but if he can impress during spring training, that timeline could wind up getting accelerated at least a little bit.
The former first-round selection has virtually no chance to break camp with the team, but this is a tremendous development opportunity for Nimmala as he continues to barrel towards Major League Baseball.
After the way last season ended, he will enter the spring with something to prove while being doubted by some of the fan base as the future offensive force he was drafted by Toronto to be.
Nimmala Faded Badly Down 2025 Stretch for Blue Jays High-A Affiliate
After posting some very impressive numbers over the first half in his debut season with High-A Vancouver, Nimmala took a nose-dive in the second half. Posting an OPS of .840 with 11 home runs and 32 RBI, a .538 OPS in the second half led to a final slash line of just .224/.313/.381 over 120 games.
He dealt with some shoulder injury issues, which could at least partially explain why he struggled, but there's no question the figures are a bit concerning.
Player development, however, especially for a high school prospect who just turned 20 years old in October, is rarely linear, and how Nimmala responds to last season's adversity could be very telling of what fans can expect.
Inviting him to spring training with the big league club is a show of clear confidence from the organization that Nimmala can turn things around quickly and re-establish himself as someone fans should be very excited about.
When camp comes around here next month, keep a close eye on the shortstop position to see whether or not Nimmala can start to create some serious buzz around his name and take a foothold as Toronto's shortstop of the future.
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Michael Brauner is a 2022 graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Sports Media. He covers various MLB teams across the On SI network and you can also find his work on Yellowhammer News covering the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers as well as on the radio producing and co-hosting 'The Opening Kickoff' every weekday morning on 105.5 WNSP FM in Mobile, Alabama.