The Toronto Blue Jays have a top 10 offence in the league, but why not add one more bat?

On Sunday morning, the Jays entered the day first in the American League East on a seven-game winning streak, pushing their lead in the division to three games. It’s even more impressive considering they’ve been without Daulton Varsho for most of the season, and when Anthony Santander was healthy, he wasn&#8217;t the same player he was in 2024.
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It’s hard to say there’s an area of need offensively, but if the Jays were to upgrade a position, it’d be third base. Since Josh Donaldson was traded in 2018, the Jays have been looking for a long-term solution at the position. They had Matt Chapman at third for the 2022 and 2023 seasons, but in the last two seasons, they’ve used a rotating cast of players at the hot corner.
This season, it’s been <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/from-castoff-potential-all-star-ernie-clement-blue-jays-mvp">Ernie Clement</a> who’s been their primary first baseman. In 87 games, Clement is slashing .298/.340/.398 with four home runs in 316 plate appearances for a 107 wRC+ and a 2.4 fWAR. He’s not a bad third baseman by any means; in fact, he’s a good player, but a team with Clement as a super-utility player is a true World Series contender.
Alternatively, Clement could platoon at second base with Andrés Giménez. Clement is a top 10 hitter against left-handed pitching this season, while Giménez has hit right-handed pitching well and has struggled against left-handed pitching. Both Giménez and Clement provide excellent defence at shortstop.
Eugenio Suárez does not solve the search for a long-term third baseman, but acquiring him would make the Blue Jays&#8217; lineup much more dangerous. So far this season, the Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman is slashing .255/.322/.569 for a 141 wRC+. More importantly, Suárez is fourth in the league in home runs with 28.
Moreover, Suárez is usually good for about 30 home runs a season throughout his career. Sometimes it dips under, like his 22 in 2023, and sometimes it’s well above 30, such as his 49 in 2019. There’s a good chance he’ll be on the higher end of his home run total this season.
For context, the home run leader for the Blue Jays is <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/george-springer-is-back-to-doing-damage-for-the-blue-jays">George Springer</a>, who hit his 16th home run of the season on <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/instant-reaction-toronto-blue-jays-walk-off-angels-win-10-their-last-12-series">Saturday afternoon</a>. Adding Suárez’s bat to the lineup gives the Blue Jays a legitimate cleanup hitter in an area where they can afford to upgrade.
Of course, Suárez isn’t a perfect match, especially for the team that won back-to-back American League Team Gold Gloves. In 723.1 innings at the hot corner, Suárez has -3 Defensive Runs Saved and -5 Outs Above Average. For his career at third, he’s played 11,136.2 innings with -18 DRS and 20 OAA, posting a 12 OAA at third in 2023. Suárez isn’t bad defensively, but moving Clement away from third for Suárez is a step down defensively, as Clement has 6 DRS and 5 OAA. Funnily enough, both have a 2.4 fWAR.
The Blue Jays also tend to trade for players with term on their contract, think Ross Stripling, José Berríos, and Whit Merrifled. Suárez is set to become a free agent at the end of the season and earns $15 million. That doesn’t mean they haven’t traded for players who were set to become free agents after the season, as Robbie Ray, Taijuan Walker, and Jordan Hicks all were acquired with expiring contracts.
However, the question is whether or not Suárez will even be available. The Diamondbacks are just three and a half games back of the final wild card spot, and a lot can happen between now and the July 31st trade deadline.
While pitching should be the Blue Jays’ priority ahead of the deadline, if Suárez is available, he’d be a great fit for them. Just imagine a lineup of Suárez, Varsho, Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Santander, Addison Barger, Alejandro Kirk, and one of Giménez or Clement.
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Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/author/ryley-delaney">Blue Jays Nation</a>, <a href="https://oilersnation.com/author/ryley-delaney">Oilersnation</a>, and <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/author/ryley-delaney">FlamesNation</a>. She can be followed on Twitter <a href="https://x.com/Ryley__Delaney">@Ryley__Delaney</a>.
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The Toronto Blue Jays have a top 10 offence in the league, but why not add one more bat?



On Sunday morning, the Jays entered the day first in the American League East on a seven-game winning streak, pushing their lead in the division to three games. It’s even more impressive considering they’ve been without Daulton Varsho for most of the season, and when Anthony Santander was healthy, he wasn't the same player he was in 2024.
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It’s hard to say there’s an area of need offensively, but if the Jays were to upgrade a position, it’d be third base. Since Josh Donaldson was traded in 2018, the Jays have been looking for a long-term solution at the position. They had Matt Chapman at third for the 2022 and 2023 seasons, but in the last two seasons, they’ve used a rotating cast of players at the hot corner.

This season, it’s been <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/from-castoff-potential-all-star-ernie-clement-blue-jays-mvp">Ernie Clement</a> who’s been their primary first baseman. In 87 games, Clement is slashing .298/.340/.398 with four home runs in 316 plate appearances for a 107 wRC+ and a 2.4 fWAR. He’s not a bad third baseman by any means; in fact, he’s a good player, but a team with Clement as a super-utility player is a true World Series contender.

Alternatively, Clement could platoon at second base with Andrés Giménez. Clement is a top 10 hitter against left-handed pitching this season, while Giménez has hit right-handed pitching well and has struggled against left-handed pitching. Both Giménez and Clement provide excellent defence at shortstop.

Eugenio Suárez does not solve the search for a long-term third baseman, but acquiring him would make the Blue Jays' lineup much more dangerous. So far this season, the Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman is slashing .255/.322/.569 for a 141 wRC+. More importantly, Suárez is fourth in the league in home runs with 28.

Moreover, Suárez is usually good for about 30 home runs a season throughout his career. Sometimes it dips under, like his 22 in 2023, and sometimes it’s well above 30, such as his 49 in 2019. There’s a good chance he’ll be on the higher end of his home run total this season.

For context, the home run leader for the Blue Jays is <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/george-springer-is-back-to-doing-damage-for-the-blue-jays">George Springer</a>, who hit his 16th home run of the season on <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/instant-reaction-toronto-blue-jays-walk-off-angels-win-10-their-last-12-series">Saturday afternoon</a>. Adding Suárez’s bat to the lineup gives the Blue Jays a legitimate cleanup hitter in an area where they can afford to upgrade.

Of course, Suárez isn’t a perfect match, especially for the team that won back-to-back American League Team Gold Gloves. In 723.1 innings at the hot corner, Suárez has -3 Defensive Runs Saved and -5 Outs Above Average. For his career at third, he’s played 11,136.2 innings with -18 DRS and 20 OAA, posting a 12 OAA at third in 2023. Suárez isn’t bad defensively, but moving Clement away from third for Suárez is a step down defensively, as Clement has 6 DRS and 5 OAA. Funnily enough, both have a 2.4 fWAR.

The Blue Jays also tend to trade for players with term on their contract, think Ross Stripling, José Berríos, and Whit Merrifled. Suárez is set to become a free agent at the end of the season and earns $15 million. That doesn’t mean they haven’t traded for players who were set to become free agents after the season, as Robbie Ray, Taijuan Walker, and Jordan Hicks all were acquired with expiring contracts.

However, the question is whether or not Suárez will even be available. The Diamondbacks are just three and a half games back of the final wild card spot, and a lot can happen between now and the July 31st trade deadline.

While pitching should be the Blue Jays’ priority ahead of the deadline, if Suárez is available, he’d be a great fit for them. Just imagine a lineup of Suárez, Varsho, Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Santander, Addison Barger, Alejandro Kirk, and one of Giménez or Clement.

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Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/author/ryley-delaney">Blue Jays Nation</a>, <a href="https://oilersnation.com/author/ryley-delaney">Oilersnation</a>, and <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/author/ryley-delaney">FlamesNation</a>. She can be followed on Twitter <a href="https://x.com/Ryley__Delaney">@Ryley__Delaney</a>.

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