Blue Jays open to shuffling batting lineup to bring back some offence

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Barring some fringe, bargain-basement adds in the six weeks before the regular season begins, what you see is what you get with the Blue Jays down in Dunedin, Fla.

Flaws and all.

And among the many areas of intrigue that will unfold through spring training and beyond is how manager John Schneider constructs his batting order.

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With that in mind, in telling reporters in Dunedin that “one through nine is an open book,” Schneider hinted that nothing is automatic for a lineup — that particularly at the top — has been just that for the past four seasons.

Yes, there’s a better-than-good chance that Bo Bichette, Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Anthony Santander will be packed together in an order needing to be vastly more prolific in scoring runs than it was during a miserable 2024. Beyond that, who knows?

The fact that the manager is suggesting that it essentially is open season creates potential intrigue at the top of the order and specifically whether George Springer can hang on to the leadoff position that has been handed to him season after season, even as his production declines.

It also implies the urgency in play for the offence to produce out of the gate and the recognition that there can’t afford to be a liability hitting first.

So what are the options at leadoff beyond the highest-paid player on the Jays roster, should his offensive numbers continue to slide?

Maybe it’s Will Wagner, who is inexperienced but a bat that Blue Jays management is fond of from the DH position. It’s a place in the lineup the inexperienced Wagner will need to earn, of course.

Maybe it’s Bichette at some point? Perhaps it’s a wait-and-see situation for whoever earns it?

The principal point, however, is that it certainly sounds as though Schneider isn’t going to automatically hand the job to a guy who hit just .220 in his 145 games last season.

As for the rest of the order, Schneider made it clear to reporters in Dunedin that Guerrero and Santander will essentially be a one-two punch.

He also hinted that there are significant expectations for the organization’s top prospect, Orelvis Martinez, whose progress was halted when he was slapped with an 80-game suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.

DOES VLAD DEADLINE MATTER?

Acknowledging that Jays general manager Ross Atkins has nothing to gain by even hinting at how negotiations are going with Guerrero, he sure did his best to deflect the urgency when meeting with reporters in Dunedin on Thursday.

When asked about what clearly is the biggest story of training camp — and No. 2 is nowhere particularly close — Atkins vowed that the team is earnestly trying to find an avenue to a deal “if there is one.”

Of course there is one — and Guerrero knows it. It’s called cash. Not as much as the team was willing to spend for both Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto in failed bids to land those players, but enough to land a player who has been the face of the franchise — despite team president Mark Shapiro’s protestations of that term — to a multi-year deal.

Will it happen? Guerrero’s deadline of Tuesday — when full-squad workouts begin — is almost upon us and Atkins hinted to reporters in Dunedin that the team still is working on getting a deal done.

How seriously those talks are remains to be seen, of course. But for a front office that reportedly was twice willing to go north of $700 million US in bidding for for prominent free agents clearly has the means to make it happen.

The idea of not closing the door beyond Guerrero’s deadline, as Atkins put it, doesn’t exactly inspire confidence if taken at its word. Nor did Atkins’ comments to reporters in Dunedin that the team had to balance business and baseball concerns when approaching the Guerrero talks.

The leverage, as it has since he returned to such a dynamic hitter last summer, remains firmly in Guerrero’s corner.

AROUND THE BASES

The Jays announced its roster of minor league coaches with some changes — most notably former big league field coordinator Gil Kim, who was removed from that position following the 2024 season, will take over as manager of the single-A Dunedin Blue Jays. As well, the team has a number of former players as special assistants: Pat Hentgen, Kevin Kiermaier, Paul Quantrill, Tim Raines and Devon White … Schneider told reporters in Dunedin that reliever Erik Swanson is behind schedule with what was described as fatigue in his right forearm. Swanson, of course, began last season on the injured list with elbow issues … Schneider told reporters that he sees Wagner — a player the team clearly has expectations for — will see time at third, second and even first base. It sure sounds like the Jays want that bat in the lineup.