TORONTO -- The roster is set, with the Blue Jays taking a pair of big decisions on Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Santiago Espinal down to the wire ahead of Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the Mariners in Toronto on Friday.

Gurriel Jr. has been left off the roster, dealing with a left hamstring strain that hasn't progressed to the point needed, which leaves the Blue Jays with four outfielders. Espinal, on the other hand, showed the Blue Jays enough in his recovery from a left oblique strain and will be part of the postseason roster, though Whit Merrifield’s play of late could limit Espinal’s role.

“It was about watching where they were from an activity standpoint and how much time each one had missed, Lourdes being a little bit more,” said interim manager John Schneider. “In a three-game series, what he could offer compared to what Espinal could offer from an offense, defense and baserunning standpoint, it was tough with Gurriel. He’s a big part of what we do and who we are.”

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This opened up some possibilities for the Blue Jays, most notably the inclusion of a third catcher in Gabriel Moreno. The 22-year-old catcher, who opened 2022 as the Blue Jays’ No. 1 prospect, hit .319 over 25 big league games this season, showing more of his offensive potential down the stretch with his first career home run. Moreno’s presence will allow the Blue Jays to safely deploy Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen in the same lineup, with one a DH option each night depending on who’s behind the dish.

In the bullpen, Yusei Kikuchi has earned a spot after encouraging the Blue Jays with four scoreless outings to close his season. Kikuchi had a dreadful start to his season in the rotation, often losing the strike zone, but Schneider has liked how the hard-throwing lefty has handled left-handed hitters of late. Otherwise, you’ll see the same bullpen the Blue Jays have carried down the stretch run.

“He offers coverage for length with extra innings being a little bit different than the regular season," said Schneider. "If you need to get through an inning at the bottom of the order from a left-handed pitcher, if you’ve already used Tim [Mayza], he comes into play there, too.”

Games 1 and 2 are scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Rogers Centre with first pitch at 4:07 p.m. ET. If a Game 3 is necessary, that is tentatively scheduled for 2:07 p.m. ET, with the winner moving on to face the Astros in the ALDS.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN:

C: Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk, Gabriel Moreno
1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
2B: Santiago Espinal, Cavan Biggio
SS: Bo Bichette
3B: Matt Chapman
UTIL: Whit Merrifield
OF: George Springer, Teoscar Hernández, Raimel Tapia, Jackie Bradley Jr.
SP: Alek Manoah, Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Ross Stripling
RP: Jordan Romano, Yimi Garcia, Anthony Bass, David Phelps, Adam Cimber, Tim Mayza, Zach Pop, Trevor Richards, Yusei Kikuchi