The Blue Jays announced their official 26-man roster for their AL Division Series matchup with the Yankees that begins today. Toronto will take 13 pitchers and 13 position players into action against New York, with the following breakdown…
Catchers: Alejandro Kirk, Tyler Heineman
Infielders: Addison Barger, Ernie Clement, Andres Gimenez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Isiah Kiner-Falefa
Outfielders: Nathan Lukes, Anthony Santander, Davis Schneider, George Springer, Myles Straw, Daulton Varsho
Left-handed pitchers: Justin Bruihl, Mason Fluharty, Eric Lauer, Brendon Little
Right-handed pitchers: Shane Bieber, Seranthony Dominguez, Braydon Fisher, Kevin Gausman, Jeff Hoffman, Tommy Nance, Yariel Rodriguez, Louis Varland, Trey Yesavage
The roster notably doesn’t include three players battling injuries (Bo Bichette, Chris Bassitt, Ty France) and one prominent name in Max Scherzer. Omitting Scherzer and Bassitt from the roster means that the Blue Jays seem to be locking into rookie Yesavage to start one game of the series, and then perhaps turning to a bullpen game in Game Four.
It wasn’t long ago that the Jays seemed to have almost a surplus of postseason rotation candidates, between Gausman, Bieber, Scherzer, Bassitt, Lauer, Jose Berrios, and Yesavage waiting in the wings at Triple-A. Toronto moved Lauer into a relief role at the start of September and also tapped Berrios for bullpen work late in the month, though a case of elbow inflammation sidelined Berrios and left his postseason availability up in the air.
Bassitt also hit the 15-day injured list on September 19 due to lower back tightness, but seemed to be on pace to be part of the ALDS roster. It isn’t yet known if Bassitt might’ve had some sort of setback in his ramp-up work, or if perhaps he or the Jays had enough uncertainty over his health that the team didn’t want to take the risk of issuing Bassitt a roster spot. If a player has to be removed from a postseason roster due to injury, the player is ineligible to play in the following series, so it could be that the Blue Jays didn’t want to take the chance of losing Bassitt for the ALCS if the Jays defeat New York.
For Scherzer, his two World Series and 143 career playoff innings didn’t carry as much weight to the Jays as the veteran’s recent form. The right-hander posted a 9.00 ERA over his final six starts and 25 innings in the regular season, and Scherzer only completed six innings in one of those outings. One of those tough starts came against the Yankees on September 7, when Scherzer allowed four runs on three hits and four walks over 4 1/3 innings in a 4-3 New York victory.
Scherzer ended up with a 5.19 ERA over 85 innings in 2025, as he missed most of the first half dealing with injuries. Just prior to his rough final six starts, it seemed like Scherzer was locking into form with a string of five consecutive quality starts and a 2.25 ERA over 32 innings. The Jays signed Scherzer to a one-year, $15.5MM contract last winter in the hopes that he could turn back the clock and provide veteran depth and experience to the rotation, particularly if Toronto happened to advance into the playoffs. While it is possible he could return for the ALCS, Scherzer will be limited to spectator duty for at least the first leg of the Blue Jays’ postseason run.
It isn’t surprising that Bichette isn’t participating, since as of Wednesday, Bichette had yet to start running drills as part of his rehab from a left PCL sprain. Bichette hurt his knee almost exactly a month ago, on an awkward slide into home plate on September 6 in another game against the Yankees. Bichette has been able to take swings in the batting cage, but until he is able to run whatsoever, his status for the rest of the playoffs remains unclear if the Jays manage to advance deeper into October.
Ty France is another noteworthy player left off the roster, as France may still be bothered by the oblique inflammation that has kept him sidelined since September 21. France’s absence will leave the Jays without some right-handed hitting bench depth, and Guerrero is now the only true first baseman on the roster, though naturally Guerrero isn’t expected to leave the lineup at any point in the series.
Source link
