Will

Wagner

Wagner ripped a sharp single into left field off of Gerrit Cole in the opening inning but the Jays couldn’t cash him in. He then got them on the board with an RBI double off of Cole in the third. The 26-year-old is now hitting .222 (2-for-9) on the spring as he fights to secure an everyday role in the Blue Jays’ lineup to start the season.

The Blue Jays aren’t sure Martinez is far along enough defensively to help in the infield right now, but they do have the DH spot open if they ever wanted to go that route. To have any chance of making the Opening Day roster, Martinez would almost surely have to clearly outhit Will Wagner this spring. So far, he’s 3-for-7 with a homer and two walks and Wagner is 0-for-6 with three strikeouts.

Andrés Giménez is batting second in his Toronto spring debut. Bichette feels like one of the more obvious bounce-back candidates in recent memory as he enters his final season prior to free agency on the heels of an injury-plagued campaign. The stolen bases might be gone for good, but occupying the leadoff spot ahead of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will undoubtedly boost his runs scored total. Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters earlier this week that he’ll mix and match the leadoff spot this season depending on matchups with Bichette, Giménez, George Springer and Will Wagner in the mix.

The three veterans in that group had OBPs of .303 (Springer), .277 (Bichette) and .298 (Giménez) last season, which is why we’re talking about a fluid situation. It’s good news for Wagner that his name is being tossed around like this. He’s not currently assured a spot, but he could see a lot of time DHing against right-handers initially. Springer, of course, has spent most of his career as a leadoff man, though he did hit fifth and sixth some last year. He’s also expected to play some left field this spring. Both he and Anthony Santander prefer right field, but one is going to end up in left much of the time.

The Blue Jays needed this one. After coming so close on Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, and Roki Sasaki, the Blue Jays needed to land a premiere talent, and they had no problem paying for it. The total guarantee is reportedly $92.5 million over five years. The 30-year-old Santander is coming off his best season ever, hitting a career-high 44 home runs and driving in 102 runs for the Orioles. He will likely slot in as the primary designated hitter and bat clean-up behind Vladimir Guerero Jr. but will also play some corner outfield. His presence in the middle of the lineup is a huge boost for Toronto, who was set to play Will Wagner as one of the primary designated hitters. The additions of Santander and Andres Gimenez squash a lot of Wagner’s fantasy value, and we should see a bit of regression for Santander as well considering he is now in a worse lineup than he was in last year, and Baltimore ranked 8th among all stadiums in Statcast’s park factor for left-handed power, while Toronto ranks 19th. Since the switch-hitting Santander will face mostly right-handed pitchers, we should expect a return to around 30 home runs with a .240 average and around 170 Runs+RBI. That certainly makes him a solid fantasy asset, but we would not pay for last season’s production.

The Blue Jays were also heavily involved in the bidding for Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, and Teoscar Hernandez, but each player decided to sign elsewhere, some for less money. The Blue Jays are desperate to add talent around Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in an effort to keep him in Toronto beyond this season, and Santander would certainly be a solid bat to add to the mix. The 30-year-old is coming off a career-best year in which he hit 44 home runs and drove in 102 runs for the Orioles. If he were to sign in Toronto, he would immediately slot in as the clean-up hitter behind Vlad Jr. and bump either Will Wagner or Joey Loperfido from the regular lineup, depending on whether or not Toronto chooses to play Santander in the field.

Wagner had his left knee scoped back in mid-September after meeting with specialists but is expected to be ready for spring training without any limitations. The 26-year-old’s path to regular at-bats becomes a bit clearer in the wake of Spencer Horwitz being shipped to Pittsburgh earlier this month as he’s the current front-runner to open next season as Toronto’s primary designated hitter after batting .305/.337/.451 with two homers in 86 plate appearances last year at the highest level. It was an extremely small sample size, but fantasy managers, especially those in deeper mixed leagues, should consider rolling the dice in the late rounds.

It almost goes without saying that Wagner’s season is over. He hit .305 with two home runs and 11 RBI in limited time with Toronto this year. Wagner only hit two home runs and didn’t have a stolen base, but he showed he can hit and that might be enough for him to be a decent fantasy asset in deeper formats in the future.

Wagner was one of three players for the Blue Jays who were able to pick up at least three hits, joining Nathan Lukes and Spencer Horwitz. Wagner has been extremely impressive since being recalled on August 12, and he now has a .329 average over his 21 games and 73 at-bats with the Blue Jays. There are question marks about the power, speed and defense; but Wagner has a hit tool that suggests being a helper in that category.

It’s been a really strong start to an MLB career for Warren who is now slashing .357/.379/.571 with two home runs, eight RBI, and eight runs scored in 16 games. He’s likely going to be more of a batting-average asset over anything else in fantasy, but it’s hard to argue with his early production, and he starts about 75 percent of games for the Blue Jays right now, so he’s worth adding in deeper formats.