The Jays have a logjam in their outfield this season. Daulton Varsho is locked into centre, and George Springer looks to mostly man DH, but after that things are up in the air.
Addison Barger is probably the priority among the other players. He had a strong rookie season last year, and at 26 with many years of control left, he’s probably the right fielder of the future as well as the present. He might be called on to play some third as well. His only downside is that he really struggled with left handed pitching in 2025. He did some damage against them in the minors, and it’s too early to write him off as a platoon bat, but they likely want to shelter him against top left handed starters.
Jesus Sanchez was just acquired in trade, and it sounds like he’ll be the top guy in left. He *is* a platoon bat, though, and so shouldn’t face lefties when he doesn’t have to.
Nathan Lukes was the primary left fielder last year, and when Anthony Santander went down it looked like he’d inherited the job again. He lacks Sanchez or Barger’s power, but he makes contact, handles lefties at least a little, and is the best defender of the trio. He’s also 31 and only got the chance to prove himself a real deal major leaguer last year. He can be optioned, but you’d hate to see that happen for a guy who only has a brief window to carve out a career and make some money.
Davis Schneider is the only right handed hitter in the main outfield mix (Springer isn’t really an outfielder at this point and Myles Straw isn’t really a hitter ever). He has no platoon split to speak of, and while he’s been a boom or bust performer in his career, the overall average has been strong. The team doesn’t seem eager to give him a full time job, but his skill set fits a need.
Myles Straw is close to a lock to make the roster as the backup centre fielder. He’s a defensive ace and a great base runner, but last year’s .670 OPS was his best in five seasons and at 31 the bat isn’t likely trending upwards.
Finally, there are two dark horses. It looked like Jonatan Clase would have to stick on the active roster or be put on waivers, but last month the Jays were granted an additional option year. That probably takes him out of contention to opening 2026 in the majors, but his speed and switch hitting could arguably fill a need. Eloy Jimenez isn’t on the 40 man roster, and he’s been injured and ineffective for the last two years, but he’s still 29 and as recently as 2022 was one of the most dangerous hitters in the American League. He looks great so far in camp, and if it keeps up it’ll be very tempting to try to find him a role.
My question is: how would you handle that jam? Who starts, what platoons would you try to run, and would you make any moves? Let us know in the comments.
