Roster expansion a welcome arrival for Blue Jays during shortened spring training

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DUNEDIN, Fla. — With a shortened spring training schedule and just enough questions remaining in building an opening day roster, the addition of two more spots until May 2 came as welcome news to Ross Atkins.

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And already, the Blue Jays general manager has some relatively clear thoughts on how to best utilize the 28-man limit approved by Major League Baseball this week.

“I think there’s a lot of different ways that we can (proceed) but I think it will mostly depend on the health of our starting rotation,” Atkins said.

As semi-broad hints go, that sounds like the Jays would consider a six-man rotation, a reality that was expected all along but with more roster room, that much more feasible. While all five starters are healthy at this point and seemingly on target for the start of the season, with 30 games in 31 days during the first month, there’s a good chance the Jays will need an extra arm.

Add the fact that Nate Pearson looked borderline sensational in his spring training debut at Lakeland on Monday and there’s that much more reason to favor a six pack.

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“Yeah, I think potentially,” Atkins said when asked about the value of a six-man starting unit. “It’s something that we’ve talked about, especially with how we’re constructed and how much confidence we have in Ross Stripling and Nate Pearson.

“But there’s also some downsides to it — what it means for rhythms and routines and how your bullpen or roster is constructed. But there are clear benefits.”

The Jays have always placed a high value on versatility and accordingly keep possibilities open — whether it’s players such as Stripling taking a swing roll or Pearson being ready to start in the majors, start in triple-A, or be ready in the big-league bullpen.

It’s part of the reason the team shies away from calling Jordan Romano their closer, even though he’s precisely that. The broader definition of a role, the easier it is to transition.

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It certainly applies to the starting pitching position, where the team is well aware it will need more than the five-man group of Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman, Alek Manoah, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Yusei Kikuchi.

“I think consistency is probably the thing that everyone craves and as long as you create some level of that, you’re going to have it embraced,” Atkins said on Wednesday outside of the Jays clubhouse at the team’s Player Development complex. “Especially in a winning environment. When it gets really challenging is when its changing and fluctuating. I’ve been really impressed and encouraged by how our team has embraced the potential of different roles and focussed on winning.”

Another possibility for the added roster spot is to enter the season with three catchers. Danny Jansen is the likely No. 1 man, with Reese McGuire and Alejandro Kirk in the mix. If the Jays decide to tackle the season with just two, the battle would be on.

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“We’re open to that,” Atkins said of the possibility of carrying three masked men. “I think with a 28-man roster it could make a lot of sense for us.”

The growing sense is that the mere presence of Kirk’s bat in the lineup or on the bench is a must. The pint-sized backstop had two more singles in two at-bats on Wednesday and has a rather silly .625 batting average early in the spring.

Notably, Kirk has been improving defensively, a point of off-season emphasis.

“He’s really worked hard to put himself in a great position,” Atkins said. “He’s done a great job working to understand his pitchers, understand the running game to control it. He’s very prepared.

“The biggest thing Alejandro is his heartbeat. It doesn’t speed up on him.”

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CHAPMAN SURVIVES SPIKE

The bloody and somewhat frightening incident that caused new third baseman Matt Chapman to leave Tuesday’s game against the Yankees after taking a foot full of spikes to his forearm won’t keep the former Gold Glover out of the lineup.

“I’m a little sore, probably as expected,” Chapman said on Wednesday. “Considering that it was the best-case scenario — not getting my wrist blown up or something like that.

“But I feel good. Don’t stitch. All cleaned up. Should be healed up here in a few days.”

While Chapman practiced gingerly on Wednesday, he expects to be back in game action by Friday.

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A busy spring training of contract work continued on Wednesday when the Jays agreed to contracts with 16 players while setting on extensions with starting pitcher Manoah and shortstop Bo Bichette.

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Among the most notable signees: Pearson, Kirk, Romano, Santiago Espinal, Thomas Hatch, McGuire, Julian Merryweather, Gabriel Moreno and Josh Palacios.

AROUND THE BASES

On a windy day in Clearwater, the Jays dropped an 8-7 decision to the Phillies as Berrios got his second start of the spring. Berrios allowed six runs in 1.2 innings, but took it all in stride. The likely Opening Day starter said he feels strong and building towards April 8, where he feels he can reach a pitch count of 80 plus … Off-season free agent signee Gausman is scheduled to get his first start of the spring on Thursday, though the grim weather forecast may scuttled those plans … Atkins on Ryu’s slow-moving spring that is pointing to a start on Friday at TD Ballpark: “Pretty standard for him. It’s about how he’s addressed every spring training. He looks great, feels great. He has the reps and the workloads on his arm from him, that he should be absolutely fine.