10 high-profile players you might have forgotten were in spring training with the Toronto Blue Jays

March 20, 2025

By Kevin Glew

Cooperstowners in Canada

Toronto Blue Jays right-hander and three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer has a thumb injury that will keep him sidelined indefinitely.

When you take into account that he’s 40 and has been hampered by a long list of injuries in recent years, it’s enough to make one ponder if he’ll ever throw a regular season pitch for the Blue Jays.

If he doesn’t, he’ll become the latest high-profile veteran signed by the club to be in spring training with them but never play a regular season for them.

Here’s a list of 10 others:

Nate Colbert, 1977

From 1969 to 1973, Colbert was a three-time All-Star and had five consecutive 20-home run seasons with the San Diego Padres. But following a down season in 1974, the Padres dealt him to the Detroit Tigers where his woes at the plate continued.

He was coming off unsuccessful stints with the Montreal Expos and Oakland A’s when the Blue Jays invited him to their first spring training to try out. When the Blue Jays played their first Grapefruit League game against the New York Mets at Dunedin Stadium on March 11, 1977, Colbert batted cleanup. He’d show flashes of his old self that spring. For example, on March 20, he went 3-for-4 with a home run, a triple and three RBIs. But the 30-year-old slugger struggled mightily with off-speed pitches and on March 25, he was released.

Cesar Cedeno, 1986

Cedeno was compared to Roberto Clemente when he first joined the Houston Astros. And early in his big-league career, that comparison seemed appropriate. Cedeno was a five-tool talent who had three straight 20-home run, 50-stolen base seasons with the Astros from 1972 to 1974.

But major off-the-field issues took the glimmer off Cedeno (You can read about them here.) and his numbers began to decline. When he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds following the 1981 season, he was still an above-average big leaguer and he had been other-worldly with the Cardinals after they acquired him for the final month of the 1985 season. That month, he batted .434 with six home runs and 19 RBIs in 25 games.

That convinced the Blue Jays to sign the 35-year-old Cedeno on March 14, 1986. The plan was to employ him as a fourth outfielder behind Jesse Barfield, Lloyd Moseby and George Bell. But Cedeno went just 6-for-32 (.188 batting average) in Grapefruit League action and was released on April 3, 1986.

Eric Plunk, 1992

Plunk had been a key reliever on the Oakland A’s pennant-winning team in 1988 before moving on to become a staple in the New York Yankees’ bullpen for the next three seasons. But his ERA had ballooned to 4.76 ERA in 43 appearances with the Bronx Bombers in 1991 and the Blue Jays were able to sign Plunk to a minor league deal following the season.

The 28-year-old reliever enjoyed a decent spring with the Blue Jays, permitting four runs in 10 innings. But the Blue Jays had two young right-handers, Pat Hentgen and Ricky Trlicek, that were out of minor league options, so they chose to keep Hentgen and Trlicek and release Plunk.

Twelve days later, Plunk was signed by Cleveland where he was a reliable reliever for the next seven seasons.

Phil Plantier, 1998

This once vaunted Boston Red Sox outfield prospect didn’t enjoy a breakout big league season until after he was traded to the Padres in December 1992. As the Padres’ everyday left fielder in 1993, Plantier belted 34 home runs and registered 100 RBIs in 138 games. Unfortunately, he was never able to duplicate that success, and after parts of two more seasons with the Padres, he saw limited action with the Astros, A’s and St. Louis Cardinals before signing with the Blue Jays on January 20, 1998.

Still only 29, he reported to Dunedin hoping to land a job as a left-handed bat coming off the bench. But he went just 4-for-31 (.129 batting average) and on March 19, the Blue Jays reassigned him to triple-A Syracuse. Plantier declined the assignment and elected to become a free agent.

Scott Podsednik, 2011

Best known as the speedy leadoff hitter for the Chicago White Sox World Series-winning team in 2005, Podsednik had six, 30-stolen base seasons between 2003 and 2010. After batting a combined .297 with 35 stolen bases in 134 games with the Kansas City Royals and Los Angeles Dodgers in 2010, Podsednik signed a minor league contract with the Blue Jays on February 16, 2011.

But before reporting to camp, Podsednik reaggravated a plantar fasciitis injury in his left foot. After several weeks of rehab, the left-handed hitting outfielder joined the Blue Jays’ triple-A Las Vegas 51s, where he batted .254 in 14 games. When he was told there was no room for him on the big-league club, he asked for his release, which was granted on May 11.

Vladimir Guerrero, 2012 (signed in May 2012)

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was not the first in his family to don a Blue Jays uniform. His Hall of Fame father, a Montreal Expos legend, played the final games of pro career in the Blue Jays’ organization in 2012.

To be clear, Guerrero was not in spring training with the Blue Jays. He was signed on May 11, 2012. The previous year, his 16th major league campaign, he had batted .290 with 13 home runs in 145 games as a 36-year-old DH with the Baltimore Orioles.

In the Blue Jays’ organization, Guerrero batted .359 with four home runs in 12 games between Class-A Dunedin and triple-A Las Vegas. He went 4-for-5 in his final game with Las Vegas before requesting his release on June 12.

Johan Santana, 2015

A two-time American League Cy Young Award winner, Santana hadn’t pitched in the majors since 2012 due to recurring shoulder issues and a torn Achilles tendon when he signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays on February 26, 2015.

The 36-year-old left-hander, whose resume boasted 139 wins and a 3.20 ERA, rehabbed in Dunedin for almost four months. But it was a toe infection that ultimately ended his comeback bid in late June before he ever pitched a pro game in the Blue Jays’ organization.

Rafael Soriano, 2016

Soriano was a 14-year veteran who had three 40-save seasons under his belt when he was signed to a minor league contract by the Blue Jays on February 28, 2016. In the previous campaign, he had posted a 6.35 ERA in six appearances with the Chicago Cubs.

But Soriano never actually reported to the Blue Jays due to visa issues out of the Dominican Republic. He voluntarily retired on March 20, 2016.

Kirby Yates, 2021

When the Blue Jays signed Yates to a one-year, $5.5-million contract on January 20, 2021, they were confident that he was healthy after he had undergone surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow the previous season. They planned to use Yates as their closer and were optimistic that the 34-year-old right-hander would rediscover the form that saw him post a 1.19 ERA, while striking out 101 batters in 60 2/3 innings in 60 appearances, for the Padres in 2019.

Unfortunately, after just two Grapefruit League appearances for the Blue Jays, Yates was forced to have Tommy John surgery and he missed the 2021 season.

Joey Votto, 2024

After 17 seasons with the Cincinnati Reds in which he built a Hall of Fame worthy resume, a 40-year-old Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.) found himself a free agent for the first time after the 2023 season.

Injuries had hindered his production in recent seasons, but the Blue Jays signed Votto to a minor league contract on March 9, 2024. He worked diligently to get back into game form and just eight days later, he homered off Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Zach Wheeler on the first – and only – Grapefruit League pitch he would see as a Blue Jay. Following the homer, he stepped on a bat on the dugout floor and hurt his ankle.

After more than five months of trying to work his way back from the injury and into satisfactory big-league form with class-A Dunedin and then triple-A Buffalo, he announced his retirement last August.