Off We Go!

The leaks that came the day before pitchers and catchers reported to camp were a little frustrating to be sure. Stop sticking microphones in front of the braintrust before the Roster Challenge deadline, please! The news about Santander and Bieber really did change up some ballots that were submitted well before midnight—we can look at setting an earlier deadline moving forward to preserve the integrity of the challenge. (We will preserve the integrity of the challenge at all costs.)

 

Some fast facts: 

 

The X factor of this year’s roster challenge appears to be the final bench spot, a pretty much even split between Loperfido and Jimenez. Whoever wins that job will have a huge impact on which ballot takes home the glory.

 

***Update*** Joey for Jesus happened and now everybody loses the chance at a perfect ballot! Aw, shucks

 

No two ballots are the same. Not really that impressive considering we only had seven ballots total, but still noteworthy.

 

Rule V darling, the Angel of death Bastardo with his 327 total career minor league innings – 45 of which were at the AA level – managed to find his way on to not one but two ballots this time around. Fascinating stuff.

 

Fisher and Fluharty were named on six of the seven ballots.

 

All ballots submitted contained the following 21 players:

 

Barger, Berrios, Cease, Clement, Gausman, Gimenez, Guerrero, Heineman, Hoffman, Kirk, Lauer, Lukes, Okamoto, Ponce, Rogers, Schneider, Springer, Straw, Varland, Varsho, Yesavage

 

Below you will find the remaining 5 names to round out the ballots, and the all-important tiebreaker. With that, we are off. Good luck to all!

 

 

Jimmy Triggs

14-14 

Fisher

Fluharty

Garcia

Little

Loperfido 

The returning champion is looking to lay the smackdown and skip taking home the prize once again. He holds the belt until someone takes it.

 

Last Row 500's

18-11 

Fisher

Garcia

Jimenez

Little

Nance 

No Fluharty = no bueno

 

Blue Jay Hunter

16-12 

Bastardo

Fluharty

Little

Loperfido

Nance 

The Blue Jays Hunter graces us with his presence once again, and we are all better off for it.

Hall Of Fame

16-11 

Fisher

Fluharty

Little

Loperfido

Nance 

The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame steps into the gauntlet looking for their first win of the roster challenge.

 

I Like Nuts

17-9 

Fisher

Fluharty

Garcia

Jimenez

Nance 

Mrs. @1BJW thought about skipping this year’s event and then quickly changed course.

 

@1BJW

12-15 

Fisher

Fluharty

Jimenez

Little

Nance 

We present to you the winning ballot. Book it.

 

The Ant Farm

20-6 

Bastardo

Fisher

Fluharty

Garcia

Loperfido 

Ant is looking at the Jays to capture another coveted Golden Grapefruit with a mind melting 20-6 spring training record. All aboard the hype train!

The 26-Man Roster Challenge - 15 Year Anniversary Edition

 

What a wild ride. Worst to first and beyond! We are still not even remotely close to being in the mood to discuss what happened in the Series. Even our closest friends haven’t asked us about it. It’s like they saw what happened and know what it did to a true die hard fan.

But the grind of the MLB season/offseason doesn’t give a shit about our feelings, so with that said, it’s that time of year again: The 26-Man Roster Challenge is happening! Many thanks in advance to all of you who still take the time to play with us. It is certainly something we look forward to every year!

For those who don’t know, the 26-Man Roster Challenge is a super simple game that has but one requirement: Name the 26 baseball players within the Blue Jays organization who you think will crack the opening day roster.

 

Sounds easy, right? Well, it really and truly isn’t. If you decide to play, there are 4 ways to submit your ballot:

 

1.            Send us an email: 1bluejaysway(at)gmail.com

2.            Make a post on your blog, if you have one, and send us a link.

3.            Add your ballot to the comments section of this post, or the reminder(s) we post later.

4.            Twitter ballots will be accepted @1BJW

 

In the event of a tie—and, at this point, it's pretty much a given that there will be a tie—we ask that you also give us a prediction of what you think the spring training record will be for the boys in baby blue. From what we can see, it appears as though your Toronto Blue Jays will attempt to play 28 spring training games this year which does not include the March 3^rd game against Team Canada. Don't forget that sometimes it rains and the games are not generally made up if they are cancelled. There is also a chance that if a game goes to extra innings and one team runs out of pitchers, both teams agree that the game ends in a tie.

 

It is not a requirement that you select a tie breaker—all ballots containing 26 names on it will be considered valid—but it is a very good idea that you do include one; over the years we've had numerous stupid-close finishes and actually had to break it right down to winning percentage. We have only had four outright winners in 15 years.

 

Some things to consider:

 

Our rotation looks excellent, from multiple experienced front-line starters to a rookie phenom and everything in between. Your Toronto Blue Jays have got – dare we say it – an excess of quality MLB caliber SP arms. The smart ones will tell you that these things seem to have a way of sorting themselves out--and they do, most of the time.

 

Looking at it from above, there is a possibility that Jose Berrios starts the 2026 season:

 

A. in the rotation

B. In the bullpen

C. On another team

D. On the IL

 

Choose wisely.

 

Again, for the purposes of this exercise, you don’t have to worry about his role on the team out of the gate, only that he is on the team. What it will do is have a trickle down effect on the bottom third of your ballot.

 

Tommy Nance, Myles Straw, Leo Jiménez and Tyler Heineman are all on the 40-man roster and out of options; they need to head north with the team or risk being lost on waivers, and probably haven’t earned a spot based on performance. But anyone who has rosterbated with us before knows all too well that rarely is the choosing of the 26th man based on performance.

 

The hate on Anthony Santander has probably gone too far at this point. If healthy, he’s got a spot on this roster, is one of our best nine hitters and will play every day whether you think that’s a good idea or not.

 

As always, the dreaded NRI/minor-league-deal-with-an-invite-to-spring-training needs to be mentioned and considered. An interesting name here to consider is Yariel Rodriguez. He snuck through outright waivers in early December, but if he can figure out a way to get his stuff in the zone he has a chance to steal a spot in the bullpen.

 

Rule V alert! Pitchers Spencer Miles and Angel Bastardo both need crack the opening day roster with the Blue Jays or be offered back to their original clubs. These are true longshots for sure.

 

It is a WBC year so there will be an extra layer of the unknowns surrounding this year’s roster challenge. That’s just super!

 

It’s worth noting that defending champion, friend of the site and all around decent human, Jimmy Triggs, drew our attention to the official MLB roster rules. They state that there must be at least an even 13/13 split between hitters and pitchers, so you’re looking at an 8-man pen and a traditional 4-man bench.

 

If you have been keeping a list of potential roster candidates for your ballot at home—we can’t be the only ones who do this—you will know that there isn’t a whole lot of spare parts this year. We are probably a little short on infielders and could see an IKF type added during spring training. (Glove-first guys who can play multiple positions are the pond scum of baseball players.) Think "MILB deal with an invite to camp" type scenario.

 

Prizes:

Get your bobblehead on!

 

Good luck to all who decide to join in on the fun this year. We are still searching for the elusive perfect ballot; it would be swell if this were the year!

 

Please include a team name and a tiebreaker. Do NOT forget the tiebreaker. The deadline to submit ballots is February 10th @ 11:59PM EST.

We Have An Outright Winner!

In what can only be described as a near miracle, we did not need to go to the tiebreaker to determine our latest winner in the 26-Man Roster Challenge. What a time to be alive!

Friend of the site, the one and only Jimmy Triggs, walks away with the hardware after nailing an impressive 23 out of 26 players on the Opening Day roster. When he was told the news he replied, “Hmm. I didn’t think I was close after Nance.” We could just feel the elation coming through the screen. A great statesman and champion!

Two ballots managed to get 22 out of 26 players correct for a solid podium finish. We do want to acknowledge all who participated in this ordeal and thank you for your interest.

The search for the elusive perfect ballot continues.

And We're Off!

We are all set for another super fun and exciting spring training in quiet Dunedin, Flow Ride A!

 

For almost 15 years straight – thanks again, COVID – we have lived and died with any news coming out of camp that pertains to injury or general performance. It would have been really swell if the signing of lefties Amir Garrett and old friend Ryan Yarbrough on minor league deals had happened prior to pitchers and catchers formally reporting--nobody took Yarbrough, and we think it makes a whole lot of sense for him to get a bullpen job.

 

This year, we had eight willing participants step forward and answer the call. Let’s examine the ballots.

 

The following 15 names appear on all of them:

 

Chris Bassit

Jose Berrios

Bo Bichette

Ernie Clement

Bowden Francis

Kevin Gausman

Chad Green

Vlad

Jeff Hoffman

Alexander Kirk

Yariel Rodriguez

Anthony Santander

Max Scherzer

George Springer

Erik Swanson

 

The Swanson news from earlier this week is interesting, as he is a bit behind with the dreaded forearm soreness.

 

From there it does get a little murky, which is something we noted as the ballots started rolling in. In our vast experience of running this thing, that generally means that your Toronto Blue Jays do not have a strong roster and quite a few jobs are still up for grabs.

 

Team Hall of Fame

12-16

 

Addison Barger

Ryan Burr

Yimi Garcia

Tyler Heineman

Leo Jimenez

Brendon Little

Joey Loperfido

Nick Sandlin

Davis Schneider

Myles Straw

Will Wagner

 

We appreciate the support from the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame once again. Guess they were too busy being awesome, and missed the news on the trade for the platinum glove winner this offseason.

 

Team Blue Jay Hunter

17-13

 

Barger

Burr

Garcia

Andres Gimenez

Heineman

Little

Loperfido

Nathan Lukes

Sandlin

Straw

Wagner

 

Hat tip to the Godfather of Blue Jays blogs

 

Team Last Row 500’s

14-15

 

Christian Bethancourt

Burr

Gimenez

Jimenez

Little

Loperfido

Lukes

Zach Pop

Sandlin

Schneider

Wagner

 

Why take just one G/Jimenez north with the club when you can take both? No Yimi…..what do you know that we don’t know?

 

Team Jimmy Triggs

15-15

 

Barger

Garcia

Gimenez

Heineman

Little

Lukes

Tommy Nance

Sandlin

Schneider

Straw

Wagner

 

Mr. Defending Champion, Sir

11-19

 

Andrew Chafin

Garcia

Gimenez

Yasmani Grandal

Lukes

Orelvis Martinez

Nance

Alan Roden

Sandlin

Schneider

Straw

 

Yowser! Where do we begin on this one? The Champ is back to defend, and he went off the board. Start with a few free agents still out there in Chafin & Grandal, add a couple of top prospects in Martinez & Rodon, and subtract Wagner from the mix. Easily our favourite ballot of the Roster Challenge this year. Let’s see how it works out for him.

 

Team I Like Nuts

14-15

 

Garcia

Gimenez

Heineman

Little

Loparfido

Lukes

Nance

Pop

Schneider

Straw

Wagner

 

The only ballot not containing Sandlin, AKA the other guy in the trade for the platinum glove winner.

 

Team @1BJW

15-13

 

Barger

Betancourt

Burr

Garcia

Giminez

Little

Loparfido

Sandlin

Schneider

Straw

Wagner

 

Clearly the best ballot and most realistic shot at winning.

 

The Ant Farm

12-16

 

Barger

Burr

Garcia

Gimenez

Heineman

Little

Lukes

Martinez

Sandlin

Straw

Wagner

 

Big shout out to our in-house Tech Guy; none of this is possible without him.

 

We do appreciate all of you who decided to join us again. The number of entries for this challenge is dwindling faster than the number of home-grown infielders we have under contact for the 2026 season, but we’re glad to have you all. Good luck!

26 Man Roster Challenge: 2025 Edition

It’s that time of year again! The 26-Man Roster Challenge is a go for launch once again. Many thanks in advance to all of you who still take the time to play with us. We just cannot seem to give this thing up.

 

For those who don’t know, the 26-Man Roster Challenge is a super simple game that has but one requirement: Name the 26 baseball players within the Blue Jays organization who you think will crack the opening day roster.

 

Sounds easy, right? Well, it really and truly isn’t. If you decide to play, there are 4 ways to submit your ballot:

 

1.            Send us an email: 1bluejaysway(at)gmail.com 

2.            Make a post on your blog, if you have one, and send us a link.

3.            Add your ballot to the comments section of this post, or the reminder(s) we post later.

4.            Twitter ballots will be accepted @1BJW

 

In the event of a tie—and, at this point, it's pretty much a given that there will be a tie—we ask that you also give us a prediction of what you think the spring training record will be for the boys in baby blue. From what we can see, it appears as though your Toronto Blue Jays will attempt to play 30 spring training games this year. Don't forget that sometimes it rains and the games are not generally made up if they are cancelled. There is also a chance that if a game goes to extra innings and one team runs out of pitchers, both teams agree that the game ends in a tie.

 

It is not a requirement that you select a tie breaker—all ballots containing 26 names on it will be considered valid—but it is a very good idea that you do include one; over the years we've had numerous stupid-close finishes and actually had to break it right down to winning percentage. We have only had three outright winners in 14 years.

 

Some things to consider:

 

Our rotation looks pretty decent all of a sudden with the addition of crazy eyes, doesn’t it? Moving the Cuban to the bullpen should help with the depth there, however there should be at least a spot or two up for grabs in low leverage.

 

Ernie Clement, Tommy Nance and Tyler Heineman are all on the 40-man roster and out of options; they need to head north with the team or risk being lost on waivers. None of those players are even remotely game breakers (sorry to all seven Clement supporters out there) and probably haven’t earned a spot based on performance, but anyone who has rosterbated with us before knows all too well that rarely is the choosing of the 26th man based on performance.

 

Varsho is banged up still and will probably stay behind in Florida to finish up his rehab/get some reps. That should open up an OF spot, but whomever it is needs to be able to play CF. We can’t let Gorgeous George anywhere near that spot ever again.

 

As always, the dreaded NRI/minor-league-deal-with-an-invite-to-spring-training needs to be mentioned and considered. Key off-season acquisition Myles Straw is on this list, as if we didn’t already have enough 4^th OF types clinging around already.

 

It’s worth noting that former champion, friend of the site and all around decent human, Jimmy Triggs, drew our attention to the official MLB roster rules. They state that there must be at least an even 13/13 split between hitters and pitchers, so you’re looking at an 8-man pen and a traditional 4-man bench.

 

If you have been keeping a list of potential roster candidates for your ballot at home—we can’t be the only ones who do this—you will know that there is a dead spot at 3B, and there are a few interesting kids that could break through there if given everyday AB’s.

 

All that being said, there are still a few impact players on the open market, primarily represented by Dick McNuts. We much preferred when The Beast just told Boras to piss off and go elsewhere rather than being “linked” “used,” followed by the predictable outcry that ensues from the spurned fan base.

 

Prizes:

Get your bobblehead on! 

Good luck to all who decide to join in on the fun this year. We are still searching for the elusive perfect ballot; it would be swell if this were the year!

 

Please include a team name and a tiebreaker. Do NOT forget the tiebreaker. The deadline to submit ballots is February 12^th @ 11:59PM EST.