Tellez earns spot on Blue Jays' 25-man roster

TORONTO -- Rowdy Tellez is in and Kendrys Morales is out as the Blue Jays made some last-minute changes to their 25-man roster in advance of Thursday's Opening Day vs. the Tigers.

Morales was traded to Oakland late Wednesday night, and his spot on the roster has been filled by first baseman Tellez, who was set to begin the year at Triple-A Buffalo. Tellez should be expected to receive some at-bats at designated hitter while also serving as the primary backup to Justin Smoak at first base.

A lot of the other roster decisions were made earlier this week. Trent Thornton won a spot in the starting rotation, Rule 5 pick Elvis Luciano, Thomas Pannone and Sam Gaviglio all found spots in the bullpen. Here's the full breakdown of Toronto's Opening Day roster:

Catchers (2): Danny Jansen, Luke Maile

What changed? Nothing at all. Jansen technically was competing with Reese McGuire for the starting job, but this always seemed like the safe bet. Maile made sense for the backup spot because the Blue Jays want to keep their young catchers playing regularly, with one in the Majors and one in the Minors. That's why McGuire is headed for Buffalo.

First basemen (2): Justin Smoak, Rowdy Tellez

What changed? Tellez will be the primary backup at first base whenever Smoak needs some time off. Billy McKinney could see some time there as well as a late defensive replacement. The backup role originally belonged to Morales, who has since been traded to Oakland, where he will fill in for the injured Matt Olson. Tellez also should get a lot of at-bat at DH.

Second baseman (1): Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

What changed? Travis was the projected Opening Day second baseman, but a left knee injury has sidelined him indefinitely. When Vladimir Guerrero Jr. gets promoted at some point in April, Brandon Drury will move off third and that might free up Gurriel for other positions, but for now he will be starting at second.

Third baseman (1): Brandon Drury

What changed? Drury has been playing third base full-time this spring, but it won't be long before he has to shift positions. Once Guerrero gets called up, all bets are off and Drury will either become the starting second baseman or turn into a super-utility player.

Shortstop (1): Freddy Galvis

What changed? If anything, Galvis is more locked into regular playing time than he was at the start of Spring Training. He's not going to play 162 games like he did each of the past two years, but Galvis is still going to see a lot of time up the middle. What that means for Gurriel Jr. once Guerrero arrives is still unclear.

Outfielders (4): Kevin Pillar, Randal Grichuk, Teoscar Hernandez, Billy McKinney

What changed? This was the projected outfield at the start of Spring Training, and it remains the outfield on Opening Day. Hernandez and McKinney will continue to battle for playing time in left field, and the Blue Jays are expected to ride the hot bat as opposed to a straight up platoon. Dalton Pompey's positive run this spring came to a crashing halt when he sustained the third concussion of his career, and he is now out indefinitely.

Utility (1): Richard Urena

What changed? Travis' injury opened the door for Urena to crack the 25-man roster. Urena was competing with veteran Eric Sogard for the final spot on the bench, and the fact that Urena was already on the 40-man roster might have been the thing that secured him the job. Urena will be the primary backup at second, short and third, and his job should be safe at least until Travis returns.

Starting pitchers (5): Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez, Matt Shoemaker, Trent Thornton, Clayton Richard.

What changed? Ryan Borucki will miss the start of the season with left elbow soreness, and right-hander Clay Buchholz needs a little bit more time to get ready. That means Richard will open the year in the rotation, while the rookie Thornton beat out Sam Gaviglio and Thomas Pannone for the other remaining spot. Richard's and Thornton's time in the rotation may prove to be short-lived, but if they start the year strong it also will be difficult to take their spots away.

Relief pitchers (8): Ken Giles, Tim Mayza, Joe Biagini, Daniel Hudson, Elvis Luciano, Javy Guerra, Sam Gaviglio and Thomas Pannone.

What changed? Ryan Tepera and John Axford both went down with right elbow injuries this spring, and right-hander David Phelps still needs a bit more time to recover from last year's Tommy John elbow surgery. That opened up three jobs in the bullpen, and one of them went to Hudson, who signed a big league deal late in Spring Training. Gaviglio claimed the long relief spot in camp, while the final spots went to the Rule 5 pick Luciano and Guerra.