Since spring training is just a couple of weeks away (Jay pitchers and catchers report on Valentine's Day) and some football game drawing the attention of every sports writer in North America, there isn't much for Blue Jay news at the moment. Since we aren't exactly deep at the major league level, I thought it might be worth the time to look at who the Jays might use to fill in at each position if there was an injury.
Right now our starters look to be:
C: J.P. Arencibia
1B: Adam Lind
2B: Aaron Hill
3B: Jose Bautista
SS: Yunel Escobar
RF: Juan Rivera
CF: Rajai Davis
LF: Travis Snider
DH: Edwin Encarnacion
There could be changes to that over spring training, but at the moment that's the way things look. The bench, likely, will be Jose Molina, John McDonald, maybe Corey Patterson and someone. Mike McCoy? Odds are there will be some changes before the season starts.
Anyway, what would happen if any of the starting nine came up with an injury:
Catcher: Brian Jeroloman is on our 40 man roster and could likely fill in as a backup catcher and do as good a job as your average journeyman catcher, though I wouldn't be surprised if we sign older backup by the end of spring training to sit on the bench in Triple-A and get the call if something were to happen.
First base: If Lind was to go down for a short time, EE would likely fill in. A longer injury might be a bit more of a problem. Maybe David Cooper will have a good start to the season and be able to help out if needed.
Middle infield: McDonald or McCoy could cover short term injuries. Something longer, maybe we'd see Brett Lawrie at second or Adeiny Hechavarria at short sooner than we thought.
Center field: If Davis were to miss a few games, Corey Patterson could fill in. Longer, it might be a good chance to look at Darin Mastroianni.
Corner outfield or 3B: If a corner outfielder went down, Jose Bautista could move back to the outfield (as much as I hate the idea of moving him back and forth) and EE or Lawrie could play some third. Or Mastroianni could get called up. Moises Sierra is also on the 40 man roster but since he played A ball last year, it would be a heck of a jump to get him to the majors. Eric Thames could earn himself a look too. Or Adam Loewen, but since Loewen is out of options, the Jays wouldn't want to call him up unless they were sure that he was going to stay.