With stars away at Classic, these Blue Jays can prove themselves

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- One way or another, a gold medal from the World Baseball Classic should end up in the Blue Jays’ clubhouse four weeks from now.

The Blue Jays are sending their entire infield to the WBC, including representatives for the three countries that have combined to win the first five championships.

Catcher: Alejandro Kirk (Mexico)
First base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Dominican Republic)
Second base: Ernie Clement (United States)
Shortstop: Andrés Giménez (Venezuela)
Third base: Kazuma Okamoto (Japan)

Infielder Leo Jiménez will be representing Panama, and every moment matters for him this spring as Jiménez is out of options and battling for the final position player spot on the Blue Jays’ roster. Manager John Schneider has joked a handful of times that, while he’d love to see his players succeed and chase the gold, he won’t be disappointed to see them back in camp a little sooner, either. The more Jiménez can do to prove himself to the Blue Jays, the better.

Regardless of how it shakes out, though, the Blue Jays’ infield will be wide open for at least two weeks. Instead of waiting for the later innings, a handful of prospects and Minor Leaguers competing for roles will get to take the main stage. Here’s who that could benefit most:

1B Eloy Jiménez
This is tradition. Each camp, there’s a veteran Minor Leaguer who stars as the darling of camp. Just a few games in, it’s already clear that Eloy Jiménez is that man.

Jiménez homered in Fort Myers earlier in the week and already has camp buzzing. We’re a long way from the rookie who launched 31 home runs with the White Sox in 2019 and won a Silver Slugger Award the next season, but he’s come into camp in great shape and is still just 29. He’ll see plenty of time at first base with Vladdy gone, and if you’re going to take a free swing on upside, why not Jiménez?

Let’s step back in time to the 2019 MLB Pipeline Top 100 Prospects list…

1. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
2. Fernando Tatis Jr.
3. Eloy Jiménez

INF Josh Kasevich
You can expect to see Kasevich in the 10-15 range of our updated Blue Jays Top 30 list, which will be released soon. He’s coming off a down year slowed by injuries, but Kasevich’s name is still brought up constantly by Blue Jays executives and player development staff. He has fans in all the right places.

Kasevich got off to a great start Sunday with a 416-foot home run against the Red Sox and he’ll see plenty of time on the left side of Toronto’s infield with the WBC crew gone. He is a rock-solid defender, and if Kasevich starts hot at the plate, he’ll be back on the Blue Jays’ radar with a legitimate shot to crack the big leagues this season.

Leo Jiménez is first in line and Ben Cowles’ spot on the 40-man roster gives him a short-term edge, but we should be talking about Kasevich much more by the end of camp.

INF Arjun Nimmala
This feels like the spring where Nimmala’s game reps jump from “giving the kid a taste of the big leagues” to something more real.

Now 20, Nimmala -- Toronto's No. 3 prospect -- has come into camp noticeably bulked up. The Blue Jays would love to see him take the next step offensively, after batting .224 with 13 home runs and a .694 OPS over 120 games in High-A Vancouver. Nimmala has come up facing older pitching as a young player for his levels, which should continue in Double-A, but that’s by design, given the organization’s belief in his maturity.

With a breakout season, Nimmala could position himself as a factor for the big club at some point in 2027. Stringing together a solid couple of weeks against legitimate MLB pitchers would be a fine start.

C Brandon Valenzuela
In a perfect world, Valenzuela develops into the Blue Jays’ long-term backup option behind Kirk for the next four or five seasons. That job belongs to Tyler Heineman right now, as it should, but Valenzuela can shorten that runway with a strong spring.

Valenzuela's calling card is his defense, led by a cannon arm. He won’t need to light the world on fire at the plate, so the odd home run with an OPS above .650 would be more than enough in Triple-A this season. He and Heineman should split game reps with Kirk out of town.