Blue Jays Starters Against Bo Bichette’s New Team Could Be Opening Day Preview
In this story:
Going into the third game of the Toronto Blue Jays pre-season ventures, fans have yet to see many familiar faces fielded, at least at the same time. But, for the match-up against Bo Bichette's new team, the New York Mets, it is quite a different story.
Part of spring training is for players who haven't made the 40-man roster yet to have a chance to fight for it. Another piece is for managers to figure out which group of players is their best bet at taking home a win on Opening Day.
The Blue Jays' season officially kicks off on March 27 at Rogers Centre against the Athletics, and the players who start against the Mets could be nearly identical to the ones who take the field in a month.
2/23 Game Day Starters
- Shortstop: Andrés Giménez
- First: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
- Second: Ernie Clement
- Third: Kazuma Okamoto
- Catcher: Alejandro Kirk
- Center: Nathan Lukes
- Left: Davis Schneider
- Right: Addison Barger
- Designated Hitter: Daulton Varsho
- Starting Pitcher: José Berríos
What Could Change For Game 1
The infield is set. Don't expect that to change anytime soon unless an injury was to deter one of their studs from contributing against the Athletics in their first series of 2026.
The first face that should come to mind as missing today is last year's Silver Slugger victor, George Springer. Again, unless an injury chains him to the bench, Springer will start when the season kicks off, which will move Varsho back to center, which is anything but shocking.
Addison Barger just hit the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history. pic.twitter.com/WUU1u3E7wC
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 25, 2025
With Varsho in center, Lukes will slide back over to his typical position, left, which will push Schneider back to the bench. After the breakout season that Barger had and the defensive clinic he put on during the postseason while also hitting over .300, he has for sure earned a start.
Starting Pitcher Battle
Berrios is taking the mound today, and was last year's Opening Day starter, but it doesn't even feel like he is the frontrunner for this year's with the monster that has become their rotation this offseason.
Right now, it seems apparent that this could be a duel between a pair of strikeout machines: Trey Yesavage and Dylan Cease.
Anybody who was slightly paying attention last year remembers the young pitcher who took over during the postseason with a record-setting performance. Yesavage had started 2025 at the very bottom of the pipeline, but finished in the Fall Classic.
Only one starter had more strikeouts- Blake Snell. Snell had a measly two more batters retired, but spent nearly seven more innings on the mound than Yesavage. He might be entering into his rookie season, but that is no concern.
There were seven pitchers last season who amassed more than 210 strikeouts, and Cease was one (215). This isn't an anomaly by any means, as it is the fifth consecutive season where he has done so, and with a better defense behind him, his ERA will continue to go down.
The Blue Jays have a roster that should terrify other ballclubs. Right now, it isn't who will stop them, but who can?
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.