Ernie Clement was picked up as a free agent signing in March of 2023, after his release by the A’s earlier that month. I wasn’t thrilled with taking a castoff of the A’s (one who only played 6 games for
one of the worst teams in baseball). It wasn’t like we didn’t already have a couple of dozen utility/middle infielders who likely wouldn’t be able to hit their weight.
He played 29 games in 2023 and hit great, .380/.385/.500 with one home run, one triple, one double, one walk and four strikeouts.
In 2024, he was pretty much a full-time player, getting into 139 games. He hit .263/.284/.408 with 12 home runs.
This year?
| Age | WAR | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ | GIDP | HBP | SH | SF | IBB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | 4.3 | 157 | 588 | 545 | 83 | 151 | 35 | 2 | 9 | 50 | 6 | 5 | 27 | 61 | .277 | .313 | .398 | .711 | 95 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 1 |
I am curious about the intentional walk. I’d guess it was a lefty pitcher, with a lefty hitting behind him. Just looked, it was against the Red Sox in a game we won 9-0. It was in the seventh inning, with two out and two on. Andres Gimenez was up next and walked in a run, making the game 5-0.
Baseball Reference had Ernie at a 4.3 WAR (up from 3.4). FanGraphs 3.2 (up from 2.1) (that’s a pretty big difference between the two), giving him a value of $25.7 million to the Jays.
Ernie had a .308 wOBA ( last year, .297) and a 98 wRC+ (last year 94).
His BABIP was .296 (.266 last year).
Clement’s walk rate was 4.6% (2.4 last year), and his strikeout rate was 10.4% (9.1 last year).
His line drive rate was 23.0% (up from 23.0). The ground ball rate was 34.0% (down from 38.2). The fly ball rate was 43.0% (up from 41.7). 4.3% of his fly balls left the park (down from 7.3).
Soft contact was 16.7% (down from 20.2%). Hard contact was 24.0% (down slightly from 24.7).
Clement hit left-handers (.326/.351-.549) far better than right-handers (.254/.295/.327).
He hit much the same on the road (.273/.318/.403) as at home (.281/.308-.393).
He hit better in the first half (.288/.328/.387) than in the second half (.263/.292/.414).
Clement by month:
- April: .239/.276/.282 with no home runs, 4 walks and 11 strikeouts in 28 games, 19 starts.
- May: .306/.349/.469 with 3 home runs, 6 walks and 14 strikeouts in 28 games, 28 starts.
- June: .354/.398/.455 with 1 home run, 8 walks and 6 strikeouts in 26 games, 25 starts.
- July: .212/.229/.298 with 1 home run, 2 walks and 11 strikeouts in 26 games, 25 starts.
- August: .258/.289/.452 with 2 home runs, 2 walks and 13 strikeouts in 25 games, 23 starts.
- September: .288/.329/.413 with 0 home runs, 5 walks and 6 strikeouts in 24 games, 23 starts.
With RISP he hit .277/.302/.394.
He hit .288/.310/.481 in high-leverage spots.
On defense:
He played:
- Third base: 603 innings. 4 errors (4 fielding, none throwing), .979 FA (league average .964). FanGraphs has his at a+6 in outs above average.
- Shortstop: 170 innings. 2 errors (both fielding), .972 FA (league average .975). FanGraphs has him at a +2 outs above average.
- Second base: 423 innings, 4 errors (two fielding, two throwing), .980 FA (league average .982). FanGraphs has him at a +5 outs above average.
FanGraphs had him 1.1 runs above average as a baserunner. He stole 6 bases and caught 5 times. That’s a rate that has me wanting him not to steal.
Where Clement hit in the batting order in games he started:
- 1st: 7 games. .219/.242/.313.
- 2nd: 8 games. .343/.361/.629.
- 5th: 11 games. .311/.354/.489.
- 6th: 32 games. .315/.346/.480.
- 7th: 42 games. .308/.353/.415.
- 8th: 36 games. .189-.229/.235.
- 9th: 4 games. .267/.267/.333.
His longest hitting streak was 9 games. Longest on base streak was 12 games. Most games without a home run 37. Longest hitless streak was 6 games.
He Jays were 85-55 in his starts.
Clement when hitting at the first pitch of an at bat he hit .252/.250/.426. Surprisingly low.
Times facing a starter:
- 1st: .250/.283/.348.
- 2nd: .252/.282/.350.
- 3rd: .286/.305/.482.
Favourite team to face: He hit .433/.438/.833 in 7 games vs the A’s.
Least favourite? He hit .160/.160/.200 in 6 games against the Rangers.
In the playoffs….he was amazing:
| Series | Opp | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | GIDP | HBP | SH | SF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALDS | NYY | 4 | 16 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .643 | .625 | .929 | 1.554 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| ALCS | SEA | 7 | 29 | 28 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .321 | .345 | .464 | .809 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WS | LAD | 7 | 32 | 31 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .387 | .375 | .484 | .859 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 Yr | 1 Yr | 18 | 77 | 73 | 13 | 30 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .411 | .416 | .562 | .977 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
I think he was robbed of the Utility Player Gold Glove. Maybe some voted for him as Gold Glove third baseman and didn’t want to vote for him in both positions. Baseball Savant has him in the 98th percentile for range.
I like that his walk rate almost doubled. He’s still fourth from the bottom in the AL for walk rate but it was a step up. I find that players who don’t walk much tend not to age well. He’s at the 6th percentile for walks (but that’s up from 1st last season).
But he doesn’t strike out much either. He’s in the 97th percentile for strikeouts.
Clement is third on the team in bWAR (fifth in fWAR). Why are the A’s such a bad team….well, releasing a guy like Clement doesn’t help (being fair, he had 1 hit in 18 at-bats for them in 2022). And good on the Jays front office for seeing there was something there.
He also runs well, with a sprint speed in the 83rd percentile. I’m not sure that he uses that speed well on offense, but he does on defense.
Ernie is still young (turns 30 in March) and still can improve. I’m thinking the terrific performance in the playoffs will fuel a step forward next year (not that he needs to improve to be a valuable player). Hitting RHP better would be a nice step. It would help if we didn’t have to platoon him.
There are questions for next season. Does Addison Barger play right field full-time (which would lead to a question of how they can get Barger, Lukes, Springer and Santander into the leadoff every day? But, having too many good players is a great problem) , so that Ernie can play third full-time? Or, if Bo doesn’t come back, does Ernie play second full-time?
Ernie is a fun player to watch. And we’ll get to watch him for a few more years at least, he isn’t a free agent until 2029.
