Blue Jays Option Backup Outfielder in Flurry of Spring Training Transactions

As spring training enters its final two weeks, teams like the Toronto Blue Jays have to start arranging their players in ways that make sense.

That means the at-bats that younger prospects or fringe players might have gotten in early March have to go to players that will get them to either prepare for the regular season or try to win an opening day job.

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Toronto did that on Monday, announcing seven transactions. The Blue Jays optioned outfielder Jonatan Clase to Triple-A Buffalo. The Bisons start their season on April 1 in Omaha.

Toronto also assigned six other players to their minor league camp — left-handed pitcher Javen Coleman, left-handed pitcher Michael Plassmeyer, catcher Geovanny Planchart, and infielders Sean Keys, Charles McAdoo and Arjun Nimmala.

Jonatan Clase Misses Opening Day Roster

ROSTER MOVES:

🔹 OF Jonatan Clase has been optioned to Triple-A

The following players have been assigned to Minor League camp -

🔹 LHP Javen Coleman
🔹 LHP Michael Plassmeyer
🔹 C Geovanny Planchart
🔹 INF Sean Keys
🔹 INF Charles McAdoo
🔹 INF Arjun Nimmala pic.twitter.com/zVs7hDLHdy
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) March 16, 2026

Clase was the only one on the list on the 40-man roster, which reflects that Toronto doesn’t see him making the team for opening day. He’s one of nine outfielders on the 40-man roster, one of which is expected to miss most of the season with an injury — Anthony Santander.

Because so many Blue Jays were playing in the WBC, Clase received ample at-bats. He played in 14 games and slashed .261/.308/.391 with four RBI. It wasn’t enough to usurp what Toronto sees as its top five or six outfielders for the opening day roster.

Clase has worked as a backup for Toronto the past two seasons, along with a short stint with Seattle in 2024 before he was acquired by the Blue Jays later that season. He has a career slash of .224/.294/.311 in 60 games, with three home runs and 14 RBI. He helped Toronto ride out several injuries in the outfield, including one to center fielder Daulton Varsho.

The Blue Jays’ depth chart in the outfield was just too locked in for Clase to crack the rotation. Varsho will start in center field, while Addison Barger is expected to handle right field and Nathan Lukes can handle left field. Davis Schneider and Jesús Sánchez are the likely backups. Toronto can also leverage Myles Straw and George Springer, though the latter is expected to DH most of the time.

Of the non-roster players, Nimmala is the most important name. He is Toronto’s No. 3 prospect per MLB Pipeline and was selected in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft and signed for the Blue Jays for $3 million. He was named the Florida Gatorade player of the Year his senior year and spent all last season at High-A Spokane.