GDB 58.0: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. starts at third base as Blue Jays close series against Pirates

It’s been 1,710 days since Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had his last start at third base in the major leagues, but that clock resets to zero on Sunday.

For the first time in four years, Guerrero Jr. will start at the hot corner as the Toronto Blue Jays look to win their series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Guerrero Jr. came up as a third baseman, making 96 appearances there in his rookie season. And while in 2021 and 2022, he played four innings at third due to defensive substitutions, he spent a minute amount of time there.

It’s never stopped him from being prepared, however. Over the years, he’s taken ground balls there, but it’s never been something anyone thought would come to game action.

His numbers in 2019 at third were nowhere near where they needed to be with -20 outs above average and a rate that put him in the lowest percentile in baseball, according to Baseball Savant. His fielding numbers haven’t improved much at first, so his shift back to third will be nothing short of interesting to see.

Toronto will send Chris Bassitt to the mound as they look to close out their three-game set against the Pirates. The Blue Jays took Game 1 against Pittsburgh in a 14-inning marathon when Davis Schneider hit his first opposite field home run to walk it off, but the Jays struggled in Game 2, as the Pirates got to Yusei Kikuchi early and Toronto’s bats couldn’t catch up.

Suffice to say, it should be an interesting Sunday afternoon in Toronto.

First pitch: 1:37 p.m. EST.

TV & Radio: Sportsnet, SN590.

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Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.