Toronto Blue Jays Roster Tree Route Map Update

About five years ago, Bluebird Banter released the first version of the Toronto Blue Jays Roster Tree Route Map, which tracks how the players on the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster were acquired. We had wanted to track not only the latest transaction that brought the player onto the roster, but also the lineage of players and transactions that led to the current player. And to make it look nice we arranged it in the style of a subway map.

We’ve continued to update the map after every significant transaction since 2013 and are pleased to present the latest version which reflects the selection of Yennsy Diaz, Patrick Murphy, Hector Perez, Trent Thornton, and Jacob Waguespack onto the 40-man roster.

Copyright Minor Leaguer, 2013-2018

For those new to the roster route map, here are some notes and fun facts:

• The dark blue loop (known as the “Aaron Loop”) connects all the players currently on the 40-man roster (whose names are in ALL CAPS). It doesn’t apply in the offseason, but players on the 60-day disabled list or the restricted (suspended) list still appear on the loop although they’re not counted towards the 40-player limit.
• The positioning of players around the loop and the shapes of the lines are mostly arbitrary.
• Transaction routes with more than two players receive a unique colour; all two-player routes are grey. The newest coloured route, the THORNTON Line, was selected to be forest green via a Twitter vote.
• Players on the 10-day disabled list (or 7-day concussion DL, bereavement list, paternity list) are not indicated with a red cross symbol as those lists do not affect their status on the 40-man roster.
• To reduce clutter, players who were acquired or traded away via the same type of transaction are grouped together with a single symbol, with their names connected by an en-dash (to distinguish them from a single player with a hyphenated surname like REID-FOLEY). For example, DRURY–McKINNEY are grouped because they were acquired together for Happ in a single transaction, while Castro–Tinoco are grouped even though they were signed separately because they were traded away together.
• Players appearing on the roster tree sharing the same surname are distinguished with their first initials (e.g. Y. DIAZ and A. Diaz).
• All lines should be followed away from the loop, regardless of whether the line points into or out of the loop. For example, TULOWITZKI is actually connected from Reyes, Castro–Tinoco, and Hoffman in the same direction chronologically, even though graphically one line points right and the other points left.
• A trade symbol (circle) without a connection (e.g. GAVIGLIO) indicates that a player was acquired for cash considerations or a player to be named later.
• A compensation draft pick (upward triangle) is connected to the free agent whose departure led to the pick. For example, the compensation pick that the Jays used to select SANCHEZ came from Scutaro leaving as a free agent.
• Only a player’s most recent acquisition is shown for players with multiple stints with the Blue Jays if they spend time in another organization between the stints. This does not apply to any current player.
• The longest route is the TRAVIS Line to Halladay, with Roy Halladay having been drafted in 1995. The previous record holder was the ESTRADA Line to K. Escobar, with Kelvim Escobar being signed in 1992.
• GILES–PAULINO–PEREZ is the first ever triple-named entry on the roster tree.

The route map is updated throughout the season and the latest version can always be found here, so bookmark that page!