Ernie Clement has the toughness of a hockey player.
A few days after taking a fastball to the face from Detroit Tigers right-hander Ty Madden, the 28-year-old was back at the Toronto Blue Jays’ player development complex in Dunedin, Fla., on Wednesday. Despite fielding a battered and bruised lip, he was ready to get back to work and underwent a full workout as many of his teammates hit the road for Bradenton.
“Ernie is doing well,” manager John Schneider told reporters, including Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, prior to Wednesday’s 7-6 defeat to the Pittsburgh Pirates. “He dodged a bullet, literally. Well, not literally, but pretty close to literally. Just a little bit of swelling, but he’s a hockey player at heart, so he’s doing well.”
The current plan is to have Clement suit up Thursday against the Boston Red Sox at TD Ballpark. But that’s yet to be set in stone. If he does play, the Blue Jays third baseman may wear a helmet flap during his at-bats for extra protection.
In six games this spring, the right-handed-hitting infielder has gone an even 7-for-14 (.500) with a double, a run batted in and a pair of strikeouts. He’s also stolen a base in his lone attempt.
Josh Walker Quietly Impressing
Walker is an arm worth keeping an eye on this spring.
The 30-year-old southpaw — signed to a one-year deal worth $760,000 with Toronto over the off-season — put together another intriguing performance Wednesday versus the Pirates, tossing an inning and a third without allowing a baserunner to reach while striking out two.
The left-handed reliever’s curveball — a pitch that produced a whiff rate over 40 per cent across 37.2 innings at triple-A last season — was particularly impressive, inducing a swing and miss in five of the eight times he threw it. It was also responsible for both of his strikeouts against the Bucs.
It was only his third outing of the spring, but Walker has already punched out four of the 12 batters he’s faced thus far, only allowing one to reach base safely.
Though he’ll likely begin this season in Buffalo, he and Brendon Little are the lone lefty relievers on the organization’s 40-man roster — excluding Easton Lucas, who’s being stretched out as a starter this spring — making him an important piece of the puzzle.
Injury Concern For O’s
The Baltimore Orioles may have to open the 2025 campaign against the Blue Jays without all-star shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who’s been diagnosed with a right intercostal strain, putting his status for Opening Day in serious doubt.
Manager Brandon Hyde said he remains hopeful Henderson will be ready to go on March 27 at Rogers Centre. But he added the team plans to take things cautiously in hopes of avoiding any lingering effects later in the year.
Henderson suffered the injury on a diving play during last Thursday’s Grapefruit League contest versus Toronto. He remained in the game initially but was later removed due to right side discomfort following his first-inning at-bat.
Losing Henderson for any length of time would be a major blow for Baltimore, as he’s coming off a career year where he finished fifth among major league position players in fWAR (8.0), trailing only Juan Soto (8.1), Shohei Ohtani (9.1), Bobby Witt Jr. (10.4) and Aaron Judge (11.2).
