With Major League Baseball games postponed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the planned start of the season will have to wait.
The Toronto Blue Jays were originally set to open their 2020 campaign with a four-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre, with Game 1 scheduled for Thursday. That's obviously not happening as MLB has mandated that games will not be played until at least May, but we can still speculate on which players would've taken the field for the now-postponed March 26 opener.
There are some obvious locks — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and incoming star pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu's names can be etched in stone, for example — but a revamped Blue Jays squad means there's a little more competition for spots on Charlie Montoyo's lineup card.
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So here it is, Sporting News' best guess at which players will be in the starting lineup when the 2020 season gets underway:
| Pitcher | Hyun-Jin Ryu |
| 1 | Bo Bichette (SS) |
| 2 | Cavan Biggio (2B) |
| 3 | Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (LF) |
| 4 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (3B) |
| 5 | Travis Shaw (1B) |
| 6 | Teoscar Hernandez (RF) |
| 7 | Randal Grichuk (CF) |
| 8 | Rowdy Tellez (DH) |
| 9 | Danny Jansen (C) |
As already mentioned, Ryu is a lock for the Opening Day starting pitcher role, as the Jays brought in the former LA Dodger on a four-year, $80-million deal to be "The Man" in a reconstructed rotation. The 32-year-old led the major leagues last season with a 2.32 ERA, and he brings some star power to a likely rotation that includes fellow newcomers Tanner Roark and Chase Anderson, veteran Matt Shoemaker and impressive sophomore Trent Thornton.
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Like Ryu, Guerrero's name is set in stone as the young slugger has quickly emerged as the face of the franchise and the talisman of the youth movement that Montoyo and GM Ross Atkins are building the club around. Guerrero fared well in his first season, hitting .272 in 2019 with 15 HR and 69 RBI in 123 games. In the truncated spring training campaign, Guerrero's numbers were up across the board as the 21-year-old rejoined the Blue Jays a leaner and more experienced player.
Among batters, Guerrero isn't the only one considered a sure thing for the Opening Day starting lineup. Fellow second-generation up-and-comers Cavan Biggio and Bo Bichette are ready to take on more of the responsibility as the leadoff and No. 2 hitters, respectively. Two-thirds of the outfield is set, with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Randal Grichuk returning for another season while Teoscar Hernandez likely gets the Opening Day nod despite plenty of options behind him.
Danny Jansen returns as the team's starting catcher after the 24-year-old appeared in 107 games last year, and Rowdy Tellez rounds out the nine batters as the Opening Day designated hitter.