Ernie Clement is a 29 (40 in March) year-old, right-handed hitting infielder. The Guardians picked him in the fourth round of the 2017 draft. He is, to this point, the most successful player taken in that
round, by a long shot (the others from that round who have played in the major have negative bWARs).
I think we all know enough about Ernie.
The Jays signed him as a free agent before the 2023 season, after the A’s released him. It really didn’t stand out much to me; we seemed to have the market cornered in middle infielders. And Clement was a glove-first infielder. It wasn’t the type of signing that excites a fan base.
Ernie spent most of the 2023 season in Buffalo. He was called up for three games in May, a few more in June, another three in July and then, at the end of August he was up for the rest of the season. In his 29 games for the Jays, he hit .380/.385/.500 with a home, triple and double.
He spent the whole season with the Jays in 2024, hitting .263/.284/.408 in 139 games. That, combined with great defense, added up to a 3.4 bWAR. Pretty decent for a guy the A’s released.
And, of course, last year was even better, a .277/.313/.398 and a 4.3 bWAR.
Then came the playoff run, where he hit .411/.416/.562 with 6 doubles, a triple and a home run in 18 games. Just an amazing run.
The terrific season and playoff run were enough to earn him a invite to play for the US World Baseball Classic team.
This year, he looks to be the leading candidate to play second base, with Andrés Giménez playing short and Kazuma Okamoto playing third. It is possible that he’ll be platooning with Addison Barger (who hasn’t played second in the majors and only 47 games there in the minors).
I don’t know if having Clement was a factor in the team not re-signing Bo Bichette. Over the last two seasons Clements had a 7.7 bWAR. Bichette 3.2. Last year, when Bo was very good, he had a 3.5 bWAR, Clement 4.3.
Steamer figures him to play 118 games, hitting .276/.313/.406 with 9 home runs and a 1.7 WAR. Those numbers seem low to me.
