Toronto Blue Jays News & Notes 3/15

The Toronto Blue Jays are coming off a 5-1 win over the Minnesota Twins yesterday and it was their fourth win of the week. Today they will take on the Detroit Tigers and are sending their top prospect Ricky Tiedemann to the mound to make his second start of the spring, in his first start he went 1.1 innings giving up a run on two hits; he didn’t issue a walk and struck out two. Today’s lineup against Detroit looks like it could be Toronto’s Opening Day lineup:

RF – George Springer
SS – Bo Bichette
1B – Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
DH – Justin Turner
LF – Daulton Varsho
C – Alejandro Kirk
CF – Kevin Kiermaier
3B – Isiah Kiner-Falefa
2B – Cavan Biggio

Blue Jays News & Notes

Justin Turner

The Blue Jays signed Turner back on January 30^th. This spring he is hitting .333 with a .967 OPS; he has one double, one home run, six RBI, two runs scored, and five walks. Turner will be a solid bat in the middle of the order for the Blue Jays in 2024 and he’s getting his swing down pat after being a free agent for the majority of the offseason

Joey Votto

Votto finally signed and found his way to his hometown team in Toronto. Blue Jays fans can see Votto make his debut on Sunday when they take on the Philadelphia Phillies. It remains to be seen what kind of role Votto will play with Toronto but his presence in the clubhouse will surely be felt.

Cavan Biggio

Biggio has had a hot spring going 5-10 in his first four games leading him to a .500 batting average and he also posts a 1.415 OPS; he has three doubles, three runs scored, and three walks. Blue Jays fans hope his hot stick will continue in the regular season when Toronto kicks off the 2024 season against the Tampa Bay Rays on March 28^th.

Bowden Francis

Francis has been impressive this spring down in Dunedin making four appearances including yesterday going six innings against the Minnesota Twins he gave up four hits, and one unearned run; he hit a batter, didn’t walk anyone, and struck out two. His spring numbers in four games and three of those as starts he is 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP, and 12 strikeouts in 14 innings. Francis is making a strong case to be the fifth start in the Blue Jays rotation with Alek Manoah dealing with shoulder soreness.

Brian Serven

Serven is not letting the fact he is a non-roster invitee to spring training stand in the way of him making a statement. This spring he has played in nine games and is hitting .313 with a 1.389 OPS; he has two doubles, three home runs, two of which came in his last three games, 12 RBI, five runs scored, and two walks. He looks like he just might be the backup for Kirk when Opening Day hits.