DUNEDIN, Fla. - Jeremy Reed sat in the quiet of a near-empty clubhouse with a half-dozen baseball bats and an open gym bag at his feet, still slightly stunned he had been one of three players banished to the fringes of spring training by the Toronto Blue Jays.

The 28-year-old was re-assigned to minor league camp on Tuesday, while pitchers Jesse Carlson and David Purcey were re-assigned to Toronto's triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas. Reed, an outfielder who broke into the big leagues six years ago, was hitting .431 this spring.

"When you play well and you feel like you're opening eyes, you just try to stay away from thinking about the negative side of the way the game can be," Reed said. "These last few days, everybody's packing up and getting ready to go, one way or the other. So you think about both sides of it -- I just tried to stay away from thoughts of the other side of it."

The other side of the business will continue this week as Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos works to cut his roster down to the mandated 25-player limit in time for opening day. Toronto has 29 players on its active roster, not including three players listed on the disabled list.

Reed's demotion would seem to suggest utility man Mike McCoy has made the team, along with infielder Randy Ruiz. The Blue Jays were still carrying three catchers on Monday, and will have to decide whether Jose Molina or Raul Chavez will serve as veteran John Buck's backup.

Anthopoulos and manager Cito Gaston also have to iron out the team's starting rotation and bullpen. Shaun Marcum and sophomore Ricky Romero are the only pitchers guaranteed a spot in the starting five, leaving Marc Rzepczynski, Brandon Morrow, Brian Tallet, Brett Cecil and Dana Eveland to compete for the remaining three staff jobs.

Starter Dustin McGowan is in the middle of a two-week rest period for his tired arm, and is likely headed for the DL.

Eveland has said he would accept a move to the bullpen. Jason Frasor, Scott Downs and Kevin Gregg are assured three of the seven spots on the relief staff, with Josh Roenicke, Casey Janssen, Shawn Camp, Merkin Valdez and Jeremy Accardo fighting for work.

"We know the players are on pins and needles," Anthopoulos said. "I don't like taking it as long as it has, but again, we can't rush the decisions that we do make. And we have to be prepared to make the right decision when the time comes."

The Blue Jays have two games remaining in Florida before they fly to Houston for a back-to-back exhibition set on Friday morning. Toronto opens the regular season on the road, playing the Texas Rangers on April 5.

"I don't want to say it's set, because there's other things that can happen," Gaston said of the roster. "A lot of things could happen. Trades, anything."

Carlson appeared in 73 games with the Blue Jays last season, a year after making 69 appearances as a rookie.

"That was a tough move, just because of everything he's done for us the last two years, what he means to this team and just the way he carries himself," Anthopoulos said. "We expect him to be back very soon. He's healthy, he feels good. It's just a matter of getting more work in and being a little more sharp relative to the other guys we have in camp right now."

Anthopoulos said Reed would be the first position player recalled if the need arose.

"I'm always going to play hard, I'm never going to stop playing hard," Reed said. "I don't know what's going to happen, I don't know where this is going to take me. I don't know, it's a tough thing to deal with."