This story was excerpted from Keegan Matheson’s Blue Jays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- To call the Blue Jays’ position player depth chart a puzzle would be a disservice to puzzles.

A good puzzle comes with the answer to the problem emblazoned across the front of the box. Eventually, you know that all 1,000 pieces inside will combine to create a garden, a kitten, an antique automobile. All you need is a bottle of wine and some patience.

The Blue Jays’ depth is something more complicated. There are more pieces than the picture needs and so many of them fit in four different spots. The infield is one problem to solve, running deep with veterans and top prospects alike, but Toronto’s outfield depth has been lost in the conversation.

Beyond the starting core of George Springer, Kevin Kiermaier and Daulton Varsho, Nathan Lukes is the only other outfielder on the roster. Lukes cracked the Opening Day roster a year ago, but the Blue Jays rarely used their final roster spot. And with several infielders who can slide out to play a corner spot, that feels like a more likely roster construction to open the season.

A time may come when the Blue Jays need a true outfielder on a more permanent basis, which is when Lukes or top outfield prospect Alan Roden could come into the picture. But until then, we can look to some clues.

1. Cavan Biggio, 4th OF?
Ask manager John Schneider what the outfield depth will look like, and the long list begins.

“You look at Biggio, you look at Davis Schneider. There’s Nathan Lukes, there’s Addison Barger , guys who can do that. I think Biggio has put himself in that role pretty firmly. We’re asking guys, like a lot of teams around the league, to have that kind of versatility. If it’s Eduardo Escobar jumping out there for a few games in spring, you’ll probably see that.”

Singling out Biggio here matters. The Blue Jays like him in right field, where Biggio started 14 games a year ago, and he could easily see 20 or more there this season as the club works to keep Springer fresh. This would require Biggio carrying over the version of himself that finished 2023, not the version who started it, but he’s clearly a top option to back up in right.

2. IKF = INF?
When Isiah Kiner-Falefa signed in late December, he felt like an ideal super utility player, capable of playing the outfield along with shortstop and third. At this point, Kiner-Falefa feels like the near-everyday third baseman, but there has to be some room for flexibility.

“Our message to him is primarily the infield, for sure,” Schneider said. “He wants to get some work in left. He played some center last year and he’s so athletic that he feels comfortable out there. It’s just about reading balls out there in left field, especially from left-handed hitters. He just describes himself like, ‘I don’t play a position, I play athlete,’ which is a unique way to look at it.”

Keep in mind that Whit Merrifield started 66 games in left field last season. Some of that share will return to Varsho, of course, but the Blue Jays will need to give him some help. Merrifield’s role in the outfield will be missed by this club.

3. Pick a side
This is where we reach the matchups game. Just like Justin Turner could slide between the DH spot and a defensive position based on how it would improve the lineup against certain pitchers, the outfield will take different shapes for the same reason.

The Blue Jays will need to find days for Kiermaier to get off his feet. Kiermaier is 33 years old now, and the 129 games he played in 2023 feels like the sweet spot if he remains healthy. Varsho will have some off-days for matchup purposes, and when Kiermaier sits, Varsho will slide over to center, where he’s an easy fit as one of baseball’s best defenders.

The corners still need help, though.

“We’re trying to target guys who, if they are doing that, are more comfortable on one side of the outfield, whether that’s left or right,” Schneider said.

With this thinking, and Biggio seemingly the backup right fielder, the Blue Jays need to find a player who can handle some left-field reps behind Varsho. In a perfect world, this is Davis Schneider, who the Blue Jays can mix and match with Varsho. It’s unreasonable to expect Schneider to be anything close to Varsho as a defender, because few people on the planet are, but that’s one way the Blue Jays can trade out a glove for a bat as they try to find a better balance in 2024.