Blue Jays unveil their 2022 roster: Everything you need to know about this year’s club

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This article was published 07/04/2022 (1640 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Blue Jays are pegged as a World Series contender, and we now know which players will represent the club to start a campaign full of championship expectations.

There were few surprises when Toronto released its 28-man roster Thursday.

Zack Collins got the last spot on the roster, joining Danny Jansen and Alejandro Kirk as Toronto’s catching options, after left-hander Ryan Borucki suffered a right hamstring strain late in spring training. Right-hander Nate Pearson also starts the season on the injured list after coming down with mononucleosis. Both moves are retroactive to April 4.

Infielder Gosuke Katoh was officially selected to the major league roster, after manager Charlie Montoyo told him he would join the team in Toronto earlier this week. If he gets in a game for the Jays, it will be Katoh’s major league debut after spending nine seasons in the minors.

Overall, the Jays will carry 15 pitchers, three catchers, six infielders and four outfielders when they begin the season Friday against the Texas Rangers at Rogers Centre.

The 2022 opening day Blue Jays roster (all figures in U.S. dollars):

STARTING ROTATION

José Berríos, RH

Age: 27

Free agency: November 2028

2022 salary: $10.7 million

Berríos gets the opening day nod in his first full season as a Jays starter. The prized acquisition at last year’s trade deadline will be expected to be a workhorse after tossing at least 190 innings in each of his last three full seasons. Since the start of 2017, he hasn’t posted an ERA above 4.00.

Kevin Gausman, RH

Age: 31

Free agency: November 2027

2022 salary: $21 million

Gausman returns to the AL East after a three-plus year stint in the NL. The 2021 all-star spent each of the last two seasons in San Francisco where he posted a 3.00 ERA over 251 2/3 combined innings. His out pitch is a splitter, which has led to at least 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings over the last three years.

Hyun-jin Ryu, LH

Age: 35

Free agency: November 2023

2022 salary: $20 million

Once the ace of this staff, Ryu’s performance fell off a cliff during the second half of last year. The former Cy Young contender had a 3.22 ERA on Aug. 3 and then a 7.43 ERA over his final 10 outings. Fatigue and injuries will be something to watch out for again this year.

Alek Manoah, RH

Age: 24

Free agency: November 2027

2022 salary: $700,000

Despite having never pitched above low-A ball before last season, Manoah took the AL by storm in 2021. He joined the rotation in late May and posted a 3.80 ERA across 20 appearances. After tossing a combined 129 2/3 innings last season, his workload won’t be as big of a concern and the burly right-hander should be ready for a full year.

Yusei Kikuchi, LH

Age: 30

Free agency: November 2024

2022 salary: $16 million

Kikuchi was a bit of a bust during his three years in Seattle, but that didn’t stop the Jays from guaranteeing him $36 million for three more. This deal was all about upside, which Kikuchi has plenty of. Consistency will be the issue. He never found it with the Mariners with a career 4.97 ERA, but the Jays believe they can tap into his mid-90s arm.

BULLPEN

Jordan Romano, RH

Age: 28

Free agency: November 2025

2022 salary: $728,000

Romano is technically entering his first full season as the Jays’ closer, even though it’s a role he held for most of 2021. After Kirby Yates went down with an injury in spring training, Romano outlasted Julian Merryweather to assume the ninth-inning duties. He converted all but one of the 24 save opportunities that went his way.

Tim Mayza, LH

Age: 30

Free agency: November 2025

2022 salary: $1.25 million

Mayza returned from Tommy John surgery last season to become one of Montoyo’s most trusted high-leverage arms. The native of Pennsylvania held left-handed batters to .446 on-base plus slugging last year, but he was effective against righties as well, making him a lot more than just a specialist. He’ll once again be a primary set-up man to Romano.

Adam Cimber, RH

Age: 31

Free agency: November 2025

2022 salary: $1.575 million

The sidearmer arguably helped save the Jays’ bullpen last year after he came over via a mid-season trade with the Marlins. Cimber allowed just one earned run during his first 14 appearances with the club, and he served up just two homers all year. He’s someone who needs to keep the ball on the ground to be effective and he should benefit from the Jays’ improved infield defence.

Yimi Garcia, RH

Age: 31

Free agency: November 2025

2022 salary: $5.5 million

Garcia is the lone new face amongst this group. The eight-year veteran split last season between the Marlins and Astros while posting a combined 4.21 ERA across 57 2/3 innings. Garcia’s best year arguably came in 2019 when he had a 3.61 ERA for the Dodgers.

Trevor Richards, RH

Age: 28

Free agency: November 2025

2022 salary: $1 million

Richards joined the Jays last July in a mid-season trade with Milwaukee for Rowdy Tellez. Both teams got what they needed as Tellez went on to slug a pair of homers in the postseason while Richards joined Cimber in alleviating the Jays’ relief concerns late in games with a 3.31 ERA across 32 2/3 innings.

David Phelps, RH

Age: 35

Free agency: November 2022

2022 salary: $1.75 million

Phelps likely will be the guy Charlie Montoyo turns to when he needs a big strikeout. He missed almost all last season with a lat injury, but he has struck out 46 batters over his last 31 big-league innings. Phelps won’t start the year as a top set-up man, but he’ll likely be used in the middle innings and to escape jams created by someone else.

Julian Merryweather, RH

Age: 30

Free agency: November 2026

2022 salary: $711,200

Merryweather flashed his potential on opening week for the Jays, but then he got hurt, which has been the story of his career. The former fifth-round pick in 2014 has barely pitched over the last several years but he was healthy this spring. Just don’t expect the clean bill of health to last, it never has before.

Ross Stripling, RH

Age: 32

Free agency: November 2022

2022 salary: $3.79 million

Stripling will open the year as the long reliever and it’s possible he’ll receive a spot start when someone in the rotation needs an extra day. That versatility should prove particularly helpful following an abbreviated camp, with Jays starters expected to be limited to approximately five innings the first trip through the rotation.

Tayler Saucedo, LH

Age: 28

Free agency: November 2027

2022 salary: $700,000

Saucedo likely will be up and down a lot this season. As one of the relievers on the bubble, and with minor league options remaining, he’ll be one of the first guys brought up when the Jays need a fresh arm. He’s a depth piece that can throw multiple innings when required.

Trent Thornton, RH

Age: 28

Free agency:: November 2025

2022 salary: $850,000

The former starter gives Montoyo another multi-inning option out of the bullpen. If the Jays fall behind big early, he’s someone who could be used to mop up innings. He’s also someone who should be up and down frequently this year, whenever the Jays require a fresh arm from the minors.

POSITION PLAYERS

Danny Jansen, C

Bats: Right

Free agency: November 2024

2022 salary: $1,950,000

Jansen finished the 2021 with a bang, posting an 1.147 OPS after coming off his second stint on the injured list with a pulled hamstring on Aug. 31. The 26-year-old had 14 extra-base hits (eight doubles, six home runs) over his final 15 starts. Having worked hard to become an above-average defensive catcher, Jansen leads the league in blocking pitches in the dirt over the last two seasons.

Alejandro Kirk, C

Bats: Right

Free agency: November 2026

2022 salary: $710,400

Only 23 years old, Kirk is a hitting savant, with a career OPS of .791, which is 14 per cent better than the major-league average over his career. He led the Jays with an 11.6 per cent strikeout rate last season while also pounding left-handed pitching to the tune of a .314/.400/.588 slash line. Kirk still has work to do behind the plate, having thrown out only six of the 36 runners who have tried to steal against him.

Zack Collins, C

Bats: Left

Free agency: November 2026

2022 salary: $700,000

Acquired for Reese McGuire last week, the 10th overall pick in the 2016 draft spent most of last season backing up Yasmani Grandal with the White Sox, which got him at lot of playing time since Grandal had three separate stints on the injured list. A bat-first catcher who put up a .951 OPS in his last full season in the minors, the offence has yet to translate to the major-league level.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B

Bats: Right

Free agency: November 2025

2022 salary: $7,900,000

What could the young slugger possibly do for an encore? He took a run at the Triple Crown in his breakthrough 2021, and would have been the American League MVP if not for Shohei Ohtani’s unicorn of a season. Having just turned 23, Vladdy is already one of the game’s most-feared hitters. His league-leading 48 home runs last season topped his Hall of Fame father’s career-high by four and fell six shy of Jose Bautista’s club record.

Cavan Biggio, 2B/1B/OF

Bats: Left

Free agency: November 2025

2022 salary: $2,122,500

Coming off a lost 2021 season during which he dealt with finger, hand, neck and back injuries, Biggio will have the opportunity to show he’s more the player who posted an OPS of .798 over his first two seasons. He’ll stay in his comfort zone this season, not being asked to play third base.

Bo Bichette, SS

Bats: Right

Free agency: November 2025

Salary: $723,550

At last season’s all-star break, Bichette became the first player in major-league history to hit .300 with at least 30 home runs, 100 runs scored, 100 RBIs, 40 doubles, 20 stolen bases and 200 hits over his first 162 career games. Hit .338/.389/.573 when the count didn’t get to 0-2.

Matt Chapman, 3B

Bats: Right

Free agency: November 2023

2022 salary: $12,500,000

You’ve heard it many times: “The last time the Blue Jays traded for Oakland’s third baseman …” Chapman isn’t likely to repeat Josh Donaldson’s 2015 MVP season, but he’s the Jays’ most transformative acquisition of the off-season. Maybe the best defensive player in the major leagues, the 28-year-old finished in the top seven in MVP balloting in 2018 and ’19.

Santiago Espinal, utility

Bats: Right

Free agency: Novemebr 2026

2022 salary: $718,000

Espinal solidified a major problem area for the Jays last season, playing 67 games at third base and hitting .314 while providing above-average defence at the hot corner. The major knock against him was a lack of thump, so he bulked up over the winter and hit as many home runs in the Grapefruit League season as he had in his entire big-league career. He’ll share time with Biggio at second base and be the primary back-up at short and third.

Teoscar Hernández, OF

Bats: Right

Free agency: November 2023

Salary: $10,650,000

Despite missing three weeks with COVID, Hernandez still led the Blue Jays with 116 RBI last year. The 29-year-old won his second straight Silver Slugger and has hit .295 over the past two seasons after coming into 2020 with a career .237 batting average. The longest-tenured position player on the team, Hernandez homered at Rogers Centre in his major league debut, albeit with Houston.

George Springer, OF

Bats: Right

Free agency: November 2026

2022 salary: $29,666,666

Springer missed over half of his inaugural season with the Jays because of oblique and quadriceps injuries, but did serious damage when he played. The 32-year-old smacked 22 home runs despite playing in only 78 games and the Jays were 48-30 when he was healthy enough to be in the lineup, as opposed to 43-41 without him.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr., LF/1B

Bats: Right

Free agency: November 2024

Salary: $4,928,571

Was a Gold Glove finalist in left field for the second straight season. Gurriel hit what might have been the biggest home run of the Jays’ season, a game-tying grand slam with two out in the eighth inning in an eventual 11-10 win over Oakland that kicked off a 21-9 run to end the season.

Raimel Tapia, OF

Bats: Left

Free agency: November 2023

2022 salary: $3,950,000

Tapia came over in a late-March trade with Colorado for Randal Grichuk, and is the polar opposite of the slugger he’ll replace. A speedy, scrappy left-handed hitter who makes a ton of contact but doesn’t hit for much power, he should be a real nuisance at the bottom of the lineup, setting the table for the big bats up top.

Gosuke Katoh, utility

Bats: Left

Free agency: November 2027

Salary: $700,000

An under-the-radar signing during the lockout, the 27-year-old endeared himself to Jays fans immediately with an homage to one-time fan favourite Munenori Kawasaki. A second-round pick of the Yankees in 2013, Katoh spent last season with the Padres’ AAA team and hit .306/.388/.474 while playing five positions.

Gregor Chisholm is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @GregorChisholm or reach him via email: gchisholm@thestar.ca

Mike Wilner is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star and host of the baseball podcast “Deep Left Field.” Follow him on Twitter: @wilnerness