5 Toronto Blue Jays Who Need To Stay Healthy In 2016

By Bryan Zarpentine

The Toronto Blue Jays made a wonderful run to the ALCS in 2015, in part because they were able to keep many of their best position players on the field. The depth on Toronto’s roster isn’t all that impressive, so once again they’re going to need to remain mostly injury free if they hope to match or exceed their success in 2015. Here are five players the Blue Jays need to stay healthy in 2016.

5 Toronto Blue Jays Who Need To Stay Healthy In 2016

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Marco Estrada — The Blue Jays survived most of 2015 without Marcus Stroman, and it's because Estrada stepped up to become the staff's ace, posting a 3.13 ERA. Toronto will be thrilled to get Stroman for a full season, but they still need Estrada to be a veteran presence at the top of the rotation. Despite having more rotation depth than they had in 2015, the Blue Jays can't afford to have Estrada go down with an injury.

Troy Tulowitzki — Not only is Tulowitzki an important part of Toronto's high-scoring offense, but the Blue Jays have little depth at shortstop if he goes down with an injury. The likes of Ryan Goins and Darwin Barney are the underwhelming replacement options for Tulowitzki, who hasn't exactly been injury free during his career. Now on the other side of 30 and playing on turf, Tulowitzki may be more susceptible to injuries than ever before, and that's not a good thing for the Blue Jays heading into 2016.

Josh Donaldson — Obviously, the Blue Jays need the reigning AL MVP to stay healthy this season, as well as replicate the production he provided last season. Toronto has enough big bats to survive Donaldson missing some time due to injury, but the Blue Jays have no viable replacement if he has to miss a significant chunk of time.

Russell Martin — Martin isn't the biggest bat in Toronto's lineup, but with Dioner Navarro signing elsewhere, the Blue Jays have little depth at the catcher position, so Martin has to stay healthy. If Martin were to miss time with an injury, Josh Thole would be the everyday catcher in Toronto. Thole has contributed little offensively since coming to Toronto, and the Blue Jays do not want to have to rely on him for anything other than catching R.A. Dickey every five days.

Jose Bautista — Bautista has carried the Toronto offense for the past six years, and the Blue Jays need one more exceptional year out of him before he hits free agency after the 2016 season. At 35, Bautista is the age that injuries can start popping up. Toronto has some outfield depth but no one who can fill a Bautista-sized hole in their lineup, so it's imperative he stays healthy in 2016.

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