JUST IN: The Blue Jays face a pivotal 2026 decision as Joey Loperfido’s future sparks intrigue, upside, and tough roster math

The Toronto Blue Jays received several intriguing pieces in the deal that sent Yusei Kikuchi to the Houston Astros at the 2024 trade deadline. One of those promising players was outfielder Joey Loperfido.

At that point in time, the Blue Jays were in the midst of a retooling due to their disappointing play, and Loperfido received ample playing time down the stretch as a result. In doing so, he appeared to have an inside track on a potential roster spot ahead of the 2025 MLB season with Toronto.

After all, with the aging George Springer likely to see more DH duties in the future and Daulton Varsho being the only staple in the outfield, competition should have been minimal for the position that Loperfido plays.

However, with a sudden influx of outfielders, including free agent signing Anthony Santander, trade acquisition Myles Straw, and the emerging Nathan Lukes, Davis Schneider, and, later on, Addison Barger, Loperfido found himself on the outside looking in for much of the 2025 campaign.

Nevertheless, when he did finally get his chance, the young 26-year-old made the most of it, putting together a solid .333/.379/.500/.879 slash line, along with a 140 OPS+ in 41 games played (104 PA) with Toronto.

But even that strong showing wasn’t enough for Loperfido to earn a spot initially on the postseason roster. He did eventually make it in as an injury replacement for Santander in the ALCS, but he saw minimal action in the end.

So, with all the aforementioned outfielders back in contention for playing time again in 2026, where does Loperfido stand with the Jays going forward? What type of player could he become, and will he remain a valuable depth piece, or should Toronto have other plans in store for him?

In terms of Loperfido’s potential, his floor is as a fourth outfielder with power coming off the bench. But his ceiling still remains a starting MLB outfielder if he can fine-tune his skills in a couple of key areas.

Those areas happen to be his strikeout and walk rates. Loperfido hasn’t had as much trouble with discipline and contact in his minor league career, but picking his pitches and putting the bat on the ball have been major issues in his brief sample in the major leagues.

He currently sports a dismal 33.3% strikeout rate, along with an abysmal 4.6% walk rate over 366 MLB plate appearances.

Unless Loperfido develops better plate discipline, pitchers will eventually exploit his swinging tendency and ultimately neutralize his bat as a result.

 With a chase rate of 34.4% and a whiff rate of 29.4% in 2025, despite his .333 batting average, it’s clear the majors will quickly catch up to Loperfido if he doesn’t make the proper adjustments.

As for his outlook with the Jays in 2026, the 26-year-old outfielder needs a spectacular spring showing to make Jays management think over things twice.

That is because with the main outfield core returning for another year in Toronto and Loperfido so far down in the pecking order, he could find himself once again starting at Triple-A Buffalo. However, given the success he has already had hitting in the minors, there isn’t much more for him to prove at that level.

As a result, rather than waste his talents down on the farm, perhaps the Blue Jays could do what they did with another young promising bat last year in Spencer Horwitz.

Already too good for the minors but without a regular spot at the major league level, Horwitz was used to obtain valuable assets for the organization (Andrés Giménez and Nick Sandlin) in an offseason trade last year.

 So, Toronto could pursue a similar route with Loperfido by using him as a valuable trade chip to help address specific remaining needs, rather than just keeping him waiting for his chance to shine on the big stage.