TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays put out an aggressive but unorthodox lineup for their home opener against the Baltimore Orioles, and they'll likely stick with it to start the season.
Shortstop Bo Bichette, first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and left-fielder Anthony Santander were the first three up in Toronto's batting order in Thursday's 12-2 loss to Baltimore, with Andres Gimenez batting cleanup, an unusual spot for the defensively oriented second baseman.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said that the Bichette-Guerrero-Santander trio would likely be Toronto's go-to combination at the top of the order to start the season but that the cleanup hitter would be by committee.
"Probably, yeah, for a while," he said in his office at Rogers Centre before the game. "I think it's just finding that sweet spot of exactly what looks good on paper from a matchup standpoint and what guys are comfortable with.
"I'm sure there'll be some tweaks along the way, but I kind of like how it how it is right now."
Bichette is a career .290 hitter with 93 home runs; numbers negatively impacted by an injury-plagued 2024.
Guerrero has hit .288 over his career with 160 homers, including 30 last year. Santander was a .246 hitter with 155 home runs — including 44 last season — over eight seasons with Baltimore before signing with Toronto in the off-season.
Gimenez was a career .261 hitter with 49 home runs over his first five Major League Baseball seasons. His career slugging percentage before arriving in Toronto — a metric that measures how effective a player is at getting extra-base hits — was .393, significantly lower than Bichette (.466), Guerrero (.500) or Santander (.469) heading into this season.
"I just like his at-bats right now, in spring training, and getting back to driving the ball again," said Schneider. "I'm not asking him to hit 40 home runs. Spots in the lineup get so defined now.
"We've talked with him throughout the course of spring training, from the very beginning, and as camp went on, he knows we're going to move him around a little bit."
Gimenez rewarded Schneider's faith in him on Thursday, hitting a two-run home run in the fourth inning to drive in Guerrero who had reached base after drawing a walk. The Bichette-Guerrero-Santander trio went a combined 0 for 10 in the first game of the four-game series with Baltimore.
The move was partly necessary as outfielder Daulton Varsho was placed on the 10-day injured list hours before the opening pitch. Varsho's move to the IL was retroactive to Monday and was needed as he continues to recover from surgery on his right shoulder.
Varsho's IL assignment was part of a flurry of roster moves the Blue Jays made before opening day began around Major League Baseball.
Rookie right-fielder Alan Roden was selected to Toronto's major league roster and will make his first-ever MLB start, batting ninth. Roden earned the opening debut with an impressive spring training where he hit .407, with two home runs and six runs batted in over 20 games.
"Pumped for Alan and everything he's done," said Schneider. "I told him yesterday after the workout, 'he was all right, let's go.' I was like, 'That's it? he's like, 'Yeah, all right, see you tomorrow.'
"I'm sure he'll be a little bit nervous, but he's handled everything great."
Outfielder Myles Straw and right-handed pitcher Jacob Barnes were also named to the opening day roster.
Right-handed pitchers Ryan Burr, with right shoulder inflammation, and Erik Swanson, with right median nerve entrapment, were both put on the 15-day IL, retroactive to Monday.
Pitchers Tommy Nance, Zach Pop of Brampton, Ont., and Nick Robertson were all designated for assignment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2025.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
