PORT CHARLOTTE — Brett Cecil took a clear lead in the race for the last spot in the bullpen with some strong work Thursday afternoon in the Toronto Blue Jays’ win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Cecil came in to face Evan Longoria –a right-handed hitter — with two on and two out in a tie game in the bottom of the third, and struck out Tampa Bay’s best hitter.

The lefty went on to pitch the fourth and fifth, striking out three while issuing one walk and allowing nothing but a seeing-eye single up the middle.

Cecil’s strong outing comes on the heels of Jeremy Jeffress getting roughed up Wednesday in Sarasota, allowing three home runs in two innings of work.

In his last two appearances, Cecil has thrown a total of four innings and has allowed a run on three hits, with one walk and four strikeouts. Contrast that to Jeffress’ last two outings, in which the righty has thrown a total of two innings, allowing three runs on five hits with four walks and just one strikeout.

There exists the possibility that both Cecil and Jeffress will make the team.

If Casey Janssen has to start the season on the disabled list, there will be two spots open in a bullpen that will also include Sergio Santos, Darren Oliver, Steve Delabar, Esmil Rogers and Aaron Loup. And with J.A. Happ either starting in Buffalo or taking Ricky Romero’s spot in the big-league rotation, two bullpen jobs could go to Cecil and Jeffress.

If Janssen is good to go, though, the Blue Jays will have a choice to make and they risk losing whoever of Cecil and Jeffress doesn’t make the team, since both are out of options.

Jeffress has the bigger arm, the better stuff and the higher ceiling but Cecil has the big-league experience, and brings with him the comfort of knowing what the team will get out of him more often than not.

Again, it’s the last man in the bullpen, a long reliever one hopes will hardly be used at all, especially given the strength of the Blue Jays’ rotation, but there’s importance attached to every big-league job nonetheless, and Cecil did himself another big favour Thursday.

On the other hand, Ricky Romero didn’t.

Working on tweaks to his mechanics, Romero managed to record just seven outs in a minor-league game Thursday afternoon, issuing five walks, throwing more balls than strikes, and allowing four earned runs on five hits. He pitched into the fourth inning, but each of the first three innings were abandoned with only two outs.

The Blue Jays are trying not to panic over Romero’s struggles this spring, and as general manager Alex Anthopoulos said afterward, things could click for Ricky at any time.

But for the first time this spring, the team seems not to be steadfast as far as Romero’s future in the rotation is concerned. Anthopoulos said after Romero’s outing there are no plans to make changes to the Blue Jays’ starting five “as of now” — a huge caveat — but that conversations are forthcoming.

I would be floored if the Blue Jays simply swapped Romero for Happ at this point, sending him down to Buffalo to start the season. At this point, though, I would not be floored if the decision was made to have Romero start the season on the disabled list, saying that he continues to recover from his off-season elbow surgery, as he tries to find the command that has seemingly abandoned him.

Happ will get yet another chance to state his case on Friday when the lefty is scheduled to pitch six innings as the Blue Jays host Alfredo Aceves and the Boston Red Sox. Happ has issued only one walk n 13 spring innings, with 11 strikeouts, though he’s allowed 17 hits.

Jerry Howarth and Jack Morris will have the call for you on sportsnet590.ca starting at 1:00 p.m. ET, so make sure to tune in!