Between Ernie Clement and Will Wagner, the Toronto Blue Jays appear to have two solid options at third base. 
Clement had a breakout season in 2024, hitting .263 across 130 games while earning a Gold Glove nomination, while Wagner hit an excellent .305 in the 23 games he was called up for after the <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/toronto-blue-jays-trade-yusei-kikuchi-to-houston-astros">Yusei Kikuchi trade</a>. Making matters even better in the whole scenario is that Clement hits right-handed and Wagner left-handed. On the surface, it looks like a perfect platoon opportunity. Not to mention that the team’s depth is decent at the position too. They have the option to slide over Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from time to time and they also have Addison Barger available with his cannon of an arm, although he will start the season in triple-A after the most recent roster cuts.
It raises the question then, why were the Jays on the market this offseason for a high-caliber third baseman <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/report-alex-bregman-has-a-six-year-offer-on-the-table-from-the-blue-jays">such as Alex Bregman</a>? As it turns out, one of the reasons may have been because the Jays&#8217; current options at third base struggle against left-handed pitching.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. says he &quot;would love to&quot; play third base next year, describing the hot corner as &quot;my position.&quot; 
Nothing is decided yet, but if the Blue Jays feel it makes them better, &quot;I&#39;m going to be ready to play third and give it all I&#39;ve got.&quot;<a href="https://t.co/Kkss3TSZGa">https://t.co/Kkss3TSZGa</a>
&mdash; Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShiDavidi/status/1837651752943845719?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 22, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Going back to the potential platoon mentioned earlier, Clement would be the go-to option against lefties as a right-handed hitter, but he struggled against them last season. Through 145 plate appearances against LHP&#8217;s, he hit just .230 with a .626 OPS. His splits against same-handed pitching were better, as his average was .263 with a .692 OPS across 307 plate appearances.
As a left-handed bat, Wagner struggled even more against lefty pitching in 2024, albeit with a small sample size, collecting a .190 average and a .561 OPS. Barger fared even worse than that, batting .143. For Wagner, it may have been the small sample size that didn&#8217;t curry favour, as he authored a .306 average and a .832 OPS in 2023, where he spent the year in the minor leagues, although that too was limited to just 49 at-bats. It&#8217;s important to mention Orelvis Martinez as well. The slugger did have a solid spring &#8212; slashing .320/.393/.480 and has been known to mash lefties &#8212; but was optioned to triple-A as well, meaning he likely won&#8217;t be an option for a little while when it comes to this conversation anyway.
Interestingly, Bregman wouldn’t have been an upgrade in this specific regard either. In 2024, he hit .224 with a .712 OPS and for his career, his OPS is only slightly higher than his numbers versus right-handers with way fewer at-bats (.862 vs. LHP compared to .842 vs RHP). 
That all means that Guerrero Jr. is the team’s best-hitting third baseman against lefties with his .308 average but to be fair, Guerrero is the overall best hitter on the team. While that likely doesn’t come as a surprise with his superstar status, it answers the question of when he should play third base instead of first.
Instead of trying to run a platoon against lefties, moving Guerrero Jr. over for the day and letting someone else such as Anthony Santander play first seems like it will be the optimal move, at least for this scenario. It&#8217;s a decent solution for the time being, but keeping in mind that Guerrero Jr.&#8217;s defence has been sub-par throughout his career at third (-2 DRS and -16 total zone), an addition of a player via trade later in the season to create a platoon may not be the worst idea unless Clement or Wagner find a way to create some pop against the southpaws.
An extra infielder or utility player who acts as an exclusive &#8220;lefty masher&#8221; would add solid depth to the team&#8217;s bench/minor leagues if they do choose to go that route.
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Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Ernie Clement (28) gets congratulated after scoring against the New York Mets during the second inning at Rogers Centre.

Between Ernie Clement and Will Wagner, the Toronto Blue Jays appear to have two solid options at third base. 

Clement had a breakout season in 2024, hitting .263 across 130 games while earning a Gold Glove nomination, while Wagner hit an excellent .305 in the 23 games he was called up for after the <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/toronto-blue-jays-trade-yusei-kikuchi-to-houston-astros">Yusei Kikuchi trade</a>. Making matters even better in the whole scenario is that Clement hits right-handed and Wagner left-handed. On the surface, it looks like a perfect platoon opportunity. Not to mention that the team’s depth is decent at the position too. They have the option to slide over Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from time to time and they also have Addison Barger available with his cannon of an arm, although he will start the season in triple-A after the most recent roster cuts.

It raises the question then, why were the Jays on the market this offseason for a high-caliber third baseman <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/report-alex-bregman-has-a-six-year-offer-on-the-table-from-the-blue-jays">such as Alex Bregman</a>? As it turns out, one of the reasons may have been because the Jays' current options at third base struggle against left-handed pitching.

https://twitter.com/ShiDavidi/status/1837651752943845719

Going back to the potential platoon mentioned earlier, Clement would be the go-to option against lefties as a right-handed hitter, but he struggled against them last season. Through 145 plate appearances against LHP's, he hit just .230 with a .626 OPS. His splits against same-handed pitching were better, as his average was .263 with a .692 OPS across 307 plate appearances.

As a left-handed bat, Wagner struggled even more against lefty pitching in 2024, albeit with a small sample size, collecting a .190 average and a .561 OPS. Barger fared even worse than that, batting .143. For Wagner, it may have been the small sample size that didn't curry favour, as he authored a .306 average and a .832 OPS in 2023, where he spent the year in the minor leagues, although that too was limited to just 49 at-bats. It's important to mention Orelvis Martinez as well. The slugger did have a solid spring -- slashing .320/.393/.480 and has been known to mash lefties -- but was optioned to triple-A as well, meaning he likely won't be an option for a little while when it comes to this conversation anyway.

Interestingly, Bregman wouldn’t have been an upgrade in this specific regard either. In 2024, he hit .224 with a .712 OPS and for his career, his OPS is only slightly higher than his numbers versus right-handers with way fewer at-bats (.862 vs. LHP compared to .842 vs RHP). 

That all means that Guerrero Jr. is the team’s best-hitting third baseman against lefties with his .308 average but to be fair, Guerrero is the overall best hitter on the team. While that likely doesn’t come as a surprise with his superstar status, it answers the question of when he should play third base instead of first.

Instead of trying to run a platoon against lefties, moving Guerrero Jr. over for the day and letting someone else such as Anthony Santander play first seems like it will be the optimal move, at least for this scenario. It's a decent solution for the time being, but keeping in mind that Guerrero Jr.'s defence has been sub-par throughout his career at third (-2 DRS and -16 total zone), an addition of a player via trade later in the season to create a platoon may not be the worst idea unless Clement or Wagner find a way to create some pop against the southpaws.

An extra infielder or utility player who acts as an exclusive "lefty masher" would add solid depth to the team's bench/minor leagues if they do choose to go that route.

<hr />

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Blue Jays third basemen struggled last season with hitting lefties – is the solution a platoon?

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