Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Viewed as emergency catcher

Varsho isn't expected to see any work at catcher during Grapefruit League play but will handle some bullpen sessions behind the plate, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.

The 26-year-old saw action in 31 games at catcher last season with Arizona before being dealt to Toronto in December, but the Blue Jays plan to deploy Varsho as their starting left fielder rather than having him bounce between positions. It's possible he sees some late-game action behind the plate in an emergency, but in all likelihood he will lose his catcher eligibility in most fantasy leagues heading into 2024. The tradeoff could be a better offensive performance after he posted a .745 OPS with a career-high 27 home runs and 16 stolen bases over 151 games last year.