Article content

With the Blue Jays currently battling the New York Yankees in a tense series that may well determine who gets top spot in the American League East, it perhaps seems a bit presumptuous to be talking about which players the club should carry on its postseason roster. The Jays are not yet a lock to still be playing past the regular-season finale on Oct. 4, but are about as close to one as you can get, provided you consider the wild-card game a part of the playoffs.

[np_storybar title=”Blue Jays take a new generation of fans into uncharted territory” link=”http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/mlb/toronto-blue-jays-take-a-new-generation-of-fans-into-uncharted-territory”][/np_storybar]

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Toronto Blue Jays have some tough decisions to make in building their playoff roster Back to video

As the Jays inch closer, the makeup of their playoff roster — who belongs, who doesn’t, who gets healthy, and who plays his way on or off — is another of the fascinating story lines to watch.

The rules for playoff eligibility look a little complicated on paper, but the main thing Blue Jays fans need to know is that infielder Darwin Barney, who was acquired after September 1, won’t be available to them. Otherwise, the players they choose will all come from the ones currently on the roster — though with the rosters having expanded at the start of the month, they’re going to need to trim about 10 names from that group.