It isn’t unheard of for a player to go through slumps during a season, especially given how long professional baseball is, but when problems persist for months, concerns keep arising.
Well, that is exactly what happened with the Toronto Blue Jays’ second baseman, Ernie Clement, who was actually selected to the 2026 All-Star team for the first time in his career. However, the drop-off in the second half was truly absurd and discouraging, to say the least.
Clement kept every ounce of momentum rolling from the postseason in 2025, where he recorded the most hits in a single playoff run. Going into the break, Clement was slashing .296/.318/.433 with an OPS of .751.
In the final 65 games of his season, his batting average dropped to .203, his on-base percentage was only 30 points higher than that, and his OPS shot below .500. Clement wasn’t the only problem in the hitting lineup down the stretch, but he was definitely a piece of their offensive issues.
Taking all of that into consideration, there will be an unrestricted free agent who is worth the Jays’ president of baseball operations, Ross Atkins, pursuing: Brandon Lowe.
Lowe just capped off a masterful season with 35 home runs and 96 RBI to complement 62 drawn walks as he slashed .260/.331/.493 (.824 OPS). Nobody in Toronto’s clubhouse had more long balls, walks, RBI, nor better OPS, as no qualified hitter was above .762.
The Blue Jays offense finished last in nearly every offensive category this season, and make no mistake, if Atkins does not go get a proven bat (maybe two), then they will be sitting on their couches at this time again next season.
Kazuma Okamoto was the lone offensive highlight reel this season, and has solidified himself as their third baseman moving forward to go alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Obviously, nobody is thrilled with how Vladdy performed this season, as he was even more disappointing than Clement, as he is on a half-a-billion contract, but that explains why Atkins isn’t going to move away from him after one bad year.
Ultimately, it comes down to either Andres Gimenez, or Clement. However, with Gimenez’s defense and the fact that he had the second-most RBIs on the team, it won’t be him.
This isn’t to say that Clement is going anywhere, but nothing is off the table with Charles McAdoo foaming at the mouth for opportunities, and one thing is for certain: this team needs to score more runs, so an upgrade at second is the best way to accomplish that.
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