Blue Jays may have lost Ernie Clement's best skill

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Blue Jays may have lost Ernie Clement's best skill originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Toronto Blue Jays have most of their roster back from the team that lost in extra innings of Game 7 of the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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So, so close, and now plenty of motivation to try and get back and do it again.

There are some changes, though. Bo Bichette is gone, and Kazuma Okamoto comes over from Japan to be the new starting third baseman.

With that infield shifting, Andres Gimenez goes to shortstop, and Ernie Clement becomes the full-time second baseman.

It's a starting job well-earned by Clement, who set an all-time MLB record with 30 hits in a single postseason in 2025.

But the positional reality might actually remove one of Clement's best skills from the table.

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Last season, Clement proved capable of playing every infield position. He was a super-utility man in the best interpretation of that description.

Clement played 89 games at third base, 60 at second base, 29 at shortstop and 15 at first base -- some of those in the same game.

He was a well-above average third baseman by the metrics, an above-average second baseman, an average first baseman and only slightly below average at shortstop.

Now, Clement will be plugged in consistently at second base. That could help his rhythm and efficiency over there, so it's not necessarily a bad thing.

It's just to wonder whether the Blue Jays' best arrangement was actually the one where Clement could play any position at any time. That won't be the player he gets to be this season. 

Will it matter in the end? That'll only be for a 162-game schedule to let us know.

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