Following a tough 2024 season at the plate, Toronto Blue Jays 2B/OF Davis Schneider is not necessarily guaranteed a roster spot heading into the upcoming season.
With centre fielder Daulton Varsho starting the year on the injured list, the Jays will have to spread out outfield at-bats until he returns. Unfortunately for Schneider, the competition for that spot has continued to grow since he burst onto the scene in late 2023. While he began his career with the Jays as a second baseman, the Jays used him a lot last year in left field, and it appears that may be his long-term home after the club acquired veteran Andres Gimenez this past winter.
George Springer should get plenty of playing time in right field again this year. New signing Anthony Santander is expected to lock down a corner outfield slot with his power bat, although he could work in the DH spot as well from time to time.
Aside from Santander, Springer, and Varsho, the Jays’ outfield depth is looking solid as well.
While his play was hit and miss at times throughout the whole season, trade deadline acquisition Joey Loperfido makes direct competition for Schneider in that they are both primary left fielders. Switch hitters Jonatan Clase and Steward Berroa also saw time in the Major Leagues last year and they both brought elite sprint speed with them (99th and 89th percentile via Baseball Savant respectively), something that Schneider does not have in his tool kit (27th percentile).
Names like Myles Straw and Nathan Lukes could also be in the mix with a good spring performance, but the main threat to Schneider’s consistent playtime is more than likely a player who hasn’t made it to the bigs yet.
Alan Roden has been putting up excellent numbers in the minor leagues, with the outfielder producing .293/.391/.475 slash line between double-A and triple-A in 2024. Roden also collected 16 home runs and 75 RBIs in the process, amassing a .865 OPS through 125 games. The Wisconsin product is looking to burst onto the scene and could be in the Major Leagues as early as this season, and some arguments could be made that a hot Spring Training camp could earn him an invite to the Opening Day roster considering the team is in ‘win now’ mode.
What then does Schneider need to do if he wants to appear in 135 games with the Jays like he did last season?
It’s all about his bat. Schneider’s speed and fielding were around league average in 2024 and his bat-to-ball skills suffered with him ending the year below the Mendoza Line. What remained from his breakout in 2023 was his power. Still managing to hit 13 home runs despite a 30.6 whiff% is impressive, if he’s able to make the right adjustments this spring and cut down on his strikeouts, Schneider could find a solid role with the Jays.
Of his competition, the most similar bat to his own is Loperfido’s. What’s beneficial for them both is that they hit from opposite sides of the plate, meaning the team can carry them both on the big league roster.
In an ideal world, they both made positive changes this past offseason and into Spring Training, and the team can run a plateau of power hitters to start the year and potentially carry that over to two solid pinch-hitting options when Varsho returns.
If the Jays decide however that they’d only like one of the two on the major league roster so that they can carry a player like Berroa or Clase, Schneider has one more trick up his sleeve that could give him the edge over Loperfido.
While Schneider was treated as a primary outfielder last year, his positional versatility is excellent. His ability to play second base (54 games in 2024) and a splash of first and third base (125 games between the two across all levels of play) makes him much easier to substitute into a game defensively.
Expect to see fierce competition in the coming weeks for the fourth outfielder spot, but with the right adjustments and a willingness to play anywhere, Schneider may win the battle and avoid a demotion to triple-A to start his 2025 campaign.