Hutchison gets nod in Blue Jays opener

• Drew Hutchison will start for the Blue Jays on opening day in Yankee Stadium. Canadian Dalton Pompey will start in centre field and another rookie, Devon Travis, has won the second-base job. Kevin Pillar will be the left-fielder until Michael Saunders comes off the disabled list.

And three of the pitching sensations in Blue Jays’ camp — starter Daniel Norris, 21, and relievers Miguel Castro and Roberto Osuna, both 20 — have made the team. They are part of a six-rookie contingent on the opening-day roster. The other three: starter Aaron Sanchez, 22; Pompey, also 22; and Travis, 24.

On Tuesday morning, general manager Alex Anthopoulos and manager John Gibbons said they had not determined the bullpen composition, beyond the guaranteed jobs held by closer Brett Cecil, Aaron Loup and Marco Estrada. But late Tuesday afternoon, Osuna tweeted that he had made the team. Shortly thereafter, a source confirmed that both Osuna and Castro would be in the bullpen on opening day.

Although the Jays have not officially announced the rotation order, R.A. Dickey is expected to start the second game in Yankee Stadium, followed by Norris. Then the Jays go to Baltimore, where Mark Buehrle, Sanchez and Hutchison are expected to start, putting Dickey in line to start the home opener against the Rays.

There were few surprises Tuesday morning when the Jays revealed most of their opening-day roster. Still to be determined: whether they open with seven or eight relievers, a question that may depend on whether Anthopoulos can acquire another reliever who becomes available as spring training winds down.

Beyond the five confirmed relievers, only three others remain in camp: right-handers Todd Redmond and Liam Hendriks and lefty Colt Hynes.

All would make it if the Jays start with an eight-man relief corps. If they go with seven, Hendriks is the likely odd man out.

If Anthopoulos does make a deal for another reliever — or two — he said he does not expect it to involve a big name.

“The last week of camp, guys are getting their releases, things like that, and guys that are out of options are becoming available — like you saw, the Mets make two trades,” he said.

“There’s a scenario that we add someone. Not that I’m trying to foreshadow or predict that we’re going to make a move, but we’re going to have some discussions and you don’t want to pull guys [into the office] and say, ‘You’re on the team,’ and then two days later tell them, ‘Look, we just acquired someone.’ “

He said he would “much prefer” to go with a seven-man bullpen and indicated an eight-man configuration would be temporary. Indeed, the makeup of the opening-day roster often changes within days of the first pitch.

At 24, Hutchison will be the youngest opening-day starter in franchise history.

Anthopoulos said he is not worried that six of his opening-day players are young and inexperienced.

“I just look at them as good players,” he said.

They bring unusual talent and poise to the mix, he said. The young pitchers have shown a knack for throwing strikes and hitting spots. At the plate, Pompey and Travis exhibit maturity, strike-zone discipline and exemplary swing paths.

“The guys that are starting with us, they didn’t back into these positions,” the GM said. “They all earned it.”