Cowles addition puts pressure on Jiménez at Blue Jays camp

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- The Blue Jays claimed infielder Ben Cowles off waivers from the Cubs on Wednesday afternoon. The move isn’t going to knock Canada’s overtime win over Czechia at the Olympics off the front page of tomorrow’s newspapers, but anything tied to the Blue Jays’ infield this spring matters.

If the season started tomorrow, the Blue Jays’ reserve infielders would be … outfielders. Addison Barger would slide between third base and right field while Davis Schneider could start the odd game at second, with Leo Jiménez on the roster bubble as a truer “backup” option.

The simple version? Toronto’s infield isn’t nearly as deep as its outfield, and sorting out that balance is one of the few real “decisions” this organization needs to make in Spring Training.

Who is Ben Cowles?

The 26-year-old Cowles came up with the Yankees, but was traded to the Cubs in the Mark Leiter Jr. deal in 2024. He bounced back and forth between the Cubs and White Sox late last season and over the winter, but the waiver-wire churn has now landed him with the Blue Jays, where he’s one of seven infielders on the 40-man roster.

Last season in Triple-A, Cowles hit .235 with nine home runs and a .671 OPS, splitting his time between second, third and shortstop. This is your classic utility infielder off the waiver wire, but Cowles also comes with option years. It’s possible that even works in Jiménez's favor this spring, giving the Blue Jays an optionable utility infielder on the roster while Jiménez is already out of options at 24.

In the spotlight: Leo Jiménez

Jiménez was still so young when he was added to the 40-man roster to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft, so at 24, he’s already playing against a ticking clock. He missed much of 2025 with injuries, but looked great at Triple-A the year prior and got in 63 games with the Blue Jays that season.

It’s up to Jiménez now. The Blue Jays are waiting on him to force their hand.

“Big spring, for sure,” said manager John Schneider. “He did a really, really good job for us in 2024 and played a lot. Last year, not the way he wanted it to go. Certain guys, they get to this point and they’re out of options. They’ve got to perform a little bit, but I think he can really help us when you’re talking about a right-handed infield bat when you deploy lineups."

Jiménez will represent Panama at the upcoming World Baseball Classic, and while the Blue Jays want to see as much of him as they possibly can in camp, Schneider will have one eye on those games, too.

“For Leo, in his particular case, I actually think it’s a good thing to get his body moving, his motor, his game clock,” Schneider said. “Hopefully, he carries that over when he gets back here.”

Having Jiménez in place as a more traditional reserve infielder would give the Blue Jays a clear second option at second base, which would allow Ernie Clement to move around whenever needed. If Andrés Giménez, the Blue Jays could also choose to slide Clement over and start Jiménez at second, but they’ll need to see him leave camp with some sort of momentum first.

The competition: Extra infielder vs. extra outfielder

In the outfield, the Blue Jays have Daulton Varsho, Jesús Sánchez, Nathan Lukes, Addison Barger, Myles Straw and Davis Schneider, while George Springer will likely see the field a couple of days each week, too. There’s still plenty of overlap here, especially given the versatility of Barger and Schneider, but it’s a crowded group no matter which way you slice it.

Between now and the end of March, the Blue Jays need to decide what’s more valuable to them: someone like Jiménez to round out the infield, or someone like Schneider with his offensive profile. Straw could be in that conversation, too, but his speed, defense and clubhouse value would be awfully difficult for the Blue Jays to leave off the roster.

It’s up to Jiménez to make that decision more difficult, but with Cowles and the potential of more moves to come, the Blue Jays have plenty of room to continue building out this group of infield depth.