With the Blue Jays opening day roster essentially set, it seems like a good time to take a final look at it before the season begins. Some obvious issues pop out with the construction of the roster, which will eventually need to be addressed. Although the team did a fairly good job with avoiding losing any pieces to waivers, the team is not exactly optimally constructed which could create some problems going forward.
First off, the pitching staff features only three left-handed pitchers with only one in the starting rotation. With lefty hitters like David Ortiz and Chris Davis in the division, I would have preferred to have two left-handed starters, but the Blue Jays options situation just didn't allow for that to happen. Obviously, J.A. Happ could be the solution to that problem and the rotation could look very different in a few weeks time. Last year, Happ and Buehrle featured heavily in the rotation, while Aaron Loup, Brett Cecil, and Darren Oliver all were available out of the bullpen against left-handed hitters. Some additional research would need to be done to determine how big of an impact this right-handed heavy pitching staff could have, but it's definitely something for the Blue Jays to keep in mind.
Secondly, the bench featuring very little flexibility is another issue that will need to be taken care of within the first month of the season. There isn't a solid centre field option behind Colby Rasmus that doesn't send shivers down your spine. Depending on your thoughts on Maicer Izturis, there isn't much infield depth either meaning John Gibbons will be pretty limited when trying to give players days off. Once the bullpen goes down to having seven men, the bench should look better (and hopefully speedier) than it does now.
Lastly, this team is about as slow as molasses going uphill in January. Last year's stolen base leaders for the Jays were Rajai Davis, Jose Reyes, and Emilio Bonifacio, with Davis winning those honours by a healthy 30 SB's. Jose Reyes still has a tight hamstring so it's tough to say if he'll be running at full speed to start the season, leaving the team with very little in the way of a threat on the basepaths. The bench doesn't contain much speed either, so pinch running won't be an option for John Gibbons late in the game. Although there won't be any players burning up the bases and making pitchers sweat, the team does feature a few players that could be considered 'not slow' such as Colby Rasmus, Ryan Goins, Brett Lawrie, and Jose Reyes.
With the season inching closer, what do you folks think is the biggest problem with the construction of this team?