Gregor Chisholm: Blue Jays off-season questions: Is Ernie Clement good enough at second base? - Toronto Star

On Wednesday, Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins will field questions about a lost year and what's next.

After making the American League all-star team, Blue Jays second baseman Ernie Clement’s production plummeted.

Gregor Chisholm is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star. Follow him on X: @GregorChisholm or reach him via email: gchisholm@thestar.ca.

The Blue Jays have about one month to assess where things went wrong in 2026 and create a plan for how they can be fixed next season.

Last fall, they spent every waking hour methodically plotting their way through the playoffs. Now after a last-place finish in the American League East, the focus is strictly on the off-season.

The biggest question is whether Vladimir Guerrero Jr. can make the necessary adjustments to reclaim his status as an elite hitter. The answer won’t be known until at least next spring, but in the meantime there are other pressing issues. 

There will likely be a change or two, but nothing major. Shapiro and Atkins aren’t going anywhere after signing five-year extensions last fall. Ditto for manager John Schneider, who was re-upped through 2028. The only uncertainty is whether they shake things up on the hitting side after their worst showing since 1981.

“We’ll figure that out in the next couple of days,” Schneider said Sunday about the status of his coaching staff. “You look at other options that could maybe make you better, but at the end of the day you have to look at the whole picture.

“Sometimes the work is good and the performance is bad. You need certain people to kind of yin and yang with one another. If there’s an area to improve anywhere we’re going to explore it, but I’m a huge fan of continuity, too.”

The Jays turned to the Japanese market last off-season when they signed third baseman Kazuma Okamoto to a four-year contract worth $60-million (U.S.) and there’s a strong possibility they will look to do so again.

Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki and Hanshin Tigers infielder/outfielder Teruaki Sato will be among the top options available in what is otherwise a weak crop of free agents, and either one would fit with the Jays as a middle-of-the-order bat.

Suzuki has finished with at least 20 homers in each of the last four seasons with a career .823 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. That’s only a tick lower than Guerrero’s .839. Sato has slugged 77 homers over the last two years in Japan.

Ernie Clement was voted an all-star for the first time. He also hit just .182 after Aug. 1 with a .442 OPS that was the lowest among all qualified MLB hitters. With a price tag that could approach $7 million (U.S.) in salary arbitration, the Jays must decide whether Clement simply ran out of gas or if additional help is required at the position.

If they go outside the organization, free-agent Brandon Lowe is worth a look. The 32-year-old Lowe caused a lot of problems for the Jays during an eight-year run with the Tampa Bay Rays and is coming off an impressive season with 35 homers and an .824 OPS for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

It’s rarely a good idea to sign a player because of nostalgia, but a trio of pitchers with connections to the 2025 World Series team would still fit with the Jays.

The projected starting rotation features Dylan Cease, José Soriano, Trey Yesavage and Cody Ponce. Rule 5 draft pick Spencer Miles is also a candidate after spending most of this year as a reliever, while Spencer Arrighetti offers depth.

Re-signing Shane Bieber to a one-year, prove-it contract would make sense. If Kevin Gausman opts to pitch another year, he would fit at the back end of the rotation, too. Even Chris Bassitt could be an option if he’d consider a long reliever/spot starter role, although that seems less likely.

Outfielder/DH Anthony Santander has barely played the last two seasons and is owed more than $57 million through 2029, although most of it is deferred. That’s too much term for the Jays to release him, but there also hasn’t been nearly enough production to lock the oft-injured slugger into a starting role.

The expected departure of George Springer creates a vacancy at designated hitter, and there’s still an opening in left field. Santander could be an option for either spot, but the Jays can’t let him get in the way of bringing in someone better. If they sign an outfielder such as Suzuki or Sato,  Santander could compete for DH at-bats with rookie Sean Keys.

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Opinion articles are based on the author’s interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events. More details

Gregor Chisholm is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star. Follow him on X: @GregorChisholm or reach him via email: gchisholm@thestar.ca.