Myles

Straw

Both Straw and Barnes will make the Opening Day roster thanks to injuries ahead of them. Barnes may eventually lose his spot to Erik Swanson or Ryan Burr, who were both placed on the IL, and Myles Straw could head back to the minors when Daulton Varsho returns.

All three players were non-roster invitees and will still need to officially be added to the Jays’ roster. A spot opened up for Straw to make it on the decision that Daulton Varsho (shoulder) would open the season on the injured list. Straw made a pretty good case for himself by hitting .400 (12-for-30) with a homer, six RBI and a stolen base in Grapefruit League action. He could wind up being a viable source of stolen bases for fantasy purposes for the week or two that he sees action with Varsho shelved.

The move isn’t completely unexpected since Varsho, who has been limited to DH this spring, is still working his way back from offseason shoulder surgery and needs some extra time to ramp-up his throwing program. The 28-year-old’s absence leaves the door slightly ajar for unheralded prospect Alan Roden, who has turned heads this spring. The most likely outcome involves some combination of Myles Straw, Nathan Lukes and Addison Barger breaking camp in part-time roles along with Davis Schneider. He’s likely facing a multi-week absence since he’ll require a minor league rehab assignment to get back up to full speed.

It’s actually Straw’s sixth career spring training homer in 257 plate appearances. That matches his total from his 1,980 regular-season plate appearances with the Astros and Guardians. The Jays took him on from Cleveland in January in order to collect some extra international dollars to throw at Roki Sasaki. That didn’t work out, of course, but it would be hilarious if Straw could make it worth it anyway. They’ll be paying him $11 million over the next two seasons.

The Jays are taking on a large portion of Straw’s remaining salary (Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi says it’s $11 million) here in order to add some extra international pool money ($2 million, according to Davidi), presumably as part of their bid for Roki Sasaki. Or maybe they already know Sasaki’s answer.... we’ll probably find that out relatively soon. Straw, 30, is owed another $14.75 million over the next two years (including his 2027 buyout) as part of a five-year, $25 million pact agreed to when he was the Guardians’ center fielder. Last season, Straw appeared in seven big-league games, going 1-for-4, and hit .240/.321/.330 in 495 plate appearances in Triple-A. He’s currently off the 40-man, but he might get a chance of making the Jays as a bench player in spring training. It doesn’t look like his bat will ever be respectable again, but he can still play a quality center field and steal bases (32-for-33 last year).

Once again, the speedy 30-year-old outfielder passed through waivers without being claimed, as no team wanted to assume the $14.75 million remaining on his contract. Straw will continue to function as extra outfield depth for the Guardians, but his days of fantasy relevancy are long gone.

Straw is back down in Triple-A after the Guardians activated Steven Kwan (lower body) from the 10-day injured list. The 29-year-old will likely be looking for a new organization in 2025.

Straw is coming up as outfield depth with Steven Kwan going on the injured list. Carlos Carrasco was designated for assignment to make room for Straw on the 40-man roster. Straw hasn’t appeared in the majors this year, but hit .238 with one home run and 29 RBI with the Guardians in 2023.

Straw predictably went unclaimed on waivers earlier this week after being removed from Cleveland’s 40-man roster. The 29-year-old center fielder has $17.5 left on a five-year, $25 million contract extension he signed prior to the 2022 campaign.

Myles Straw, who has already reportedly been placed on waivers, and Deyvison De Los Santos did not. The biggest surprise here is Smith, who lands the final spot in Cleveland’s bullpen, barring an unexpected late addition.