This piece was taken from the Blue Jays Beat newsletter by Keegan Matheson. Go here to view the newsletter in its entirety. And sign
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On the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster, you nearly need a fourth hand to count the depth of infield players.
If you count infielders Justin Turner and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, you’ll reach 13 on the 40-man roster alone. That figure rises even further
when you take prospects like Damiano Palmegiani, who are not currently on the 40-man but may contend for a spot in 2024.
Though it must be more than merely depth for its own sake, depth may be a wonderful thing. Competent teams stack players who are
strong in many areas to create complementing depth. A super-utility player who can play outfield in the event that everything goes
wrong, a left-handed smash here, an elite defender there.
Naturally, locks are present. Kiner-Falefa and Turner, along with Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Cavan Biggio, are here to
stay. Beyond that, though, things get considerably murkier, so each player will have to contribute more than simply depth. The one
thing that sets them apart from the rest of the gang is their ticket, which they will require.
Here is a glance at that image, showing the placements of each player in the most likely order:
This season, the 2022 All-Star hit.248 with an OPS of.644, stats that will only be useful if he possesses a strong attribute to support the
lineup. While several on this list match Espinal’s defensive flexibility, he doesn’t provide much on the bases. He has to get back to his
dish performance from ’21, but if a trade is still possible, he may be one of the names from this group that gets dealt.
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