{"id":525000,"date":"2026-01-17T12:02:30","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T12:02:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/525000\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T12:02:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T12:02:30","slug":"blue-jays-ernie-clement-drops-surprising-vladimir-guerrero-jr-replacement-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/525000\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Jays\u2019 Ernie Clement Drops Surprising Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Replacement Update"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Minnesota<\/p>\n

TORONTO, ON – AUGUST 27: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. #27 of the Toronto Blue Jays runs to the dugout during a game against the Minnesota Twins at Rogers Centre on August 27, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Toronto Blue Jays enjoyed strong contributions from up and down the roster during their Cinderella postseason run all the way to Game 7 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers last year.<\/p>\n

Rookie pitcher Trey Yesavage emerged as a bona fide ace, shortstop Bo Bichette returned from injury to hit a clutch home run and outfielder Addison Barger logged some heroic assists from the outfield. But perhaps no other player stepped up in the playoffs as dramatically as Ernie Clement, who set a single-postseason record with 30 total hits<\/a>.<\/p>\n

ForbesDodgers\u2019 World Series Champion Hints At Next Career After Leaving BaseballBy Peter Chawaga<\/a>Toronto Blue Jays\u2019 Ernie Clement Emerged As Key Contributor<\/p>\n

Though he seemed to find a new level in the playoffs, Clement was a solid contributor for the Blue Jays all year as a key utility option. He made starts around the diamond throughout the season and earned praise from the team\u2019s manager as a critical contributor.<\/p>\n

\u201cErnie had a phenomenal year,\u201d Blue Jays manager John Schneider said after the season, per MLB.com\u2019s Manny Randhawa<\/a>. \u201cI hope he wins a Gold Glove. He should. And he kind of became one of the faces of our team because of the way he plays.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clement primarily served as a third baseman and second baseman for the Blue Jays, with more than a dozen games started at shortstop as well. When asked about his versatile role for the team in a recent interview on MLB Network, he explained that it\u2019s his preference to change positions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love it, I love it, I love bouncing around,\u201d Clement said<\/a>. \u201cIt helps other guys get in the lineup, it helps the manager play the hot hand because guys are going to go through the ups and downs of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

ForbesBlue Jays Land 27-Year-Old Outfielder After He Cuts Ties With Rival YankeesBy Peter Chawaga<\/a>Toronto Blue Jays\u2019 Ernie Clement Wants To Replace Vladimir Guerrero Jr. At First Base More Often<\/p>\n

And, during that interview, Clement noted that he hopes to replace franchise slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first base more often next season despite only playing the position a handful of times last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love playing second, I love playing short, I love playing third,\u201d Clement added. \u201cAnd I\u2019ve learned a little bit of first base in this past season. Vladdy needs a rest every once in a while and I\u2019m happy to slide in there if need be.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Anthony Santander and George Springer set to take up most of the designated hitter reps and Kazuma Okamoto joining the team as another corner infield option, Clement might not see very much time at first base. But it seems like if it were up to him, he\u2019d get a chance to replace his superstar teammate at the position more often.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO, ON – AUGUST 27: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. #27 of the Toronto Blue Jays runs to the dugout…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":525001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[5,4,282,70,93],"class_list":{"0":"post-525000","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-toronto","11":"tag-toronto-blue-jays","12":"tag-vladimir-guerrero-jr"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115910357857753380","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=525000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/525001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=525000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=525000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=525000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}