The 2026 season has been nothing short of a nightmare for the Toronto Blue Jays and their fans.

While that horse has already been beaten to death, the frustrating season is plagued on multiple fronts. From injuries, to errors. to missed opportunities, to failing to cash in runs, and even to gain ground in the push for a playoff spot. With a loss on Monday evening, the Blue Jays’ playoff hopes are all but gone, barring a miracle.

Arguably no Blue Jay has had a worse second half than Ernie Clement.

The 30-year-old journeyman has one of the best stories in the game, going from being waived by teams like the Athletics and the Cleveland Guardians to emerging as one of Canada’s favourite athletes to root for. So much so that he followed up by setting the most hits ever recorded in a postseason with 30 by being named to Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

Clement’s first half was great. Before the All-Star Game, he was slashing .296/318/.433 with eight home runs in 374 plate appearances. At that point in the season, he was sixth in hits with 106 and had the fifth-most doubles. He was also one of the best second basemen in all of baseball and deserved his All-Star nod, the first of his career.

Since that All-Star game, it has been a total nightmare for Clement. Since July 17th,  he’s slashing .212/.247/.269 with a .516 OPS. He’s walked just nine times in 227 plate appearances. While his strikeouts haven’t been a concern, his at-bats have generated poor swinging decisions, as he has more often than not swung at the first pitch in most of his plate appearances.

Clement’s wRC+ also sits at just 43, which translates to virtually candidate to be designated for assignment. Among Blue Jays batters, Clement has the highest chase percentage at 44.8% this season, of which 42.1% is swinging at the first pitch.

Several factors could be played into Clements’ struggles behind the plate over the last few months; one of those could be fatigue-related. On top of a long postseason, Clement played several games with Team USA at the WBC and gas appeared in 152 games this season. While that does not excuse the fact that Clement has struggled in his approach to make at-bats competitive and work up pitch counts, it can be used to explain why his production has dried up this season.

While his glove has provided some unreal plays this season, he also has posted -6 OAA on the season, which was unfortunately on display on Friday night in Texas with a crucial error leading to a pair of runs being scored. For comparison, in 2025 he had a team-best +15 OAA, and in 2024 was third (+8) behind Kevin Kiermaier and Daulton Varsho. He even finished as a finalist for two Gold Glove awards.

That said, Clement’s spot on the roster shouldn’t be in peril.

His struggles are a reason why the Jays are in the spot they’re in, but he’s not the only reason they’ll miss the playoffs. Clement has shown to be an All-Star calibre player in the past, but the approach needs work, especially if he wants to be a regular, everyday player in this league. While he likely will not lose a spot with this team, something has to change.

The good news is that he’s a good rebound candidate, and at the worst, he has the potential to be a platoon player with strong defence who mashes left-handed pitching.