Assessing who’ll be the Blue Jays starting third baseman

The hot corner for the Toronto Blue Jays is up for grabs.

It seems like it’s been years since the Blue Jays have had a long-term third baseman on their roster. While they had Matt Chapman for the 2022 and 2023 seasons, it always felt like he was going to leave the team the first chance he could – which he did in the 2023-24 free agency.

With Alex Bregman signing with the Boston Red Sox and Yoán Moncada signing with the Los Angeles Angels, the Blue Jays likely have to look in-house for their third baseman in 2025 – barring a trade.

Let’s take a look at the three players contending for the hot corner this season.

Ernie Clement

Selected in the fourth round of the 2017 draft, Clement had limited power until he joined the Blue Jays organization before the start of the 2023 season. Between Triple-A and the big leagues, Clement hit 12 home runs, surpassing the 11 home runs in 1,652 plate appearances in his professional career before the 2023 season.

Out of option years for the 2024 season, Clement earned a spot on the 26-man roster and played well with the Blue Jays. Last season, the 28-year-old utility player slashed .263/.284/.408 with 12 home runs in 452 plate appearances, with a 2.4 BB% and a 9.1 K% for a 94 wRC+.

Usually, a team wants some pop at third base, and while Clement has improved his power numbers over the past two seasons, he’s not going to hit 20+ home runs. That means he has to find other ways to increase his value, which he does with strong defence.

Clement finished as a nominee for the American League Gold Glove last season, posting 9 Defensive Runs Saved and 3 Outs Above Average in 661 innings at the position. He ultimately fell to Alex Bregman.

However, it’s easy to make the argument that Clement’s value is best when he can roam the field and be used against left-handed pitchers. He played some shortstop last season as well, posting 6 DRS and 4 OAA in 314.1 innings, as well as some second base and left field, with experience at first base.

With all that being said, Clement is the front-runner for third base as he has the most experience of the four players we’ll look at in this article.

Will Wagner

Will Wagner is the player I want to play third base for the Blue Jays in 2025.

Although he’s a second baseman by trade, Wagner has experience playing third base in the past, putting in 628.2 innings since being drafted by the Houston Astros in 2021. Since joining the Blue Jays, he’s only played nine innings (one game) at the hot corner.

However, with the Andées Giménez trade this past off-season, Wagner doesn’t have a defensive home as Giménez will be the everyday second baseman. Well, the good news is that third base is open for the taking.

Wagner’s bat definitely deserves to be in the lineup, as he’s your prototypical lead-off hitter. After getting called up by the Blue Jays last season, the 26-year-old slashed .305/.337/.451 with two home runs in 86 plate appearances. With a larger sample size in Triple-A last season, Wagner slashed .315/.432/.444 with six home runs in 355 plate appearances for a 125 wRC+.

While Wagner may be a perfect lead-off hitter, there are some concerns about him at third base, mainly his arm. According to his MLB Pipeline scouting report, he doesn’t have enough arm strength to play the hot corner, which was a similar complaint for Cavan Biggio in 2022.

Still, the Blue Jays need to get his bat in the lineup and third base is the only open spot, unless they want to use him as a designated hitter.

Addison Barger

Who doesn’t love left-handed power hitters with an incredible arm at third base? Well, Barger fits that checklist, generating a ton of power from the left side with strong throws to first basemen.

After a terrific 2022 when he shot up the Blue Jays minor league system, Barger struggled in 2023 with poor performance and injury. He was back with a vengeance in 2023, slashing .260/.391/.466 with nine home runs in 249 plate appearances with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons for a 128 wRC+.

Barger also had several stints in the big leagues with the Blue Jays, where he slashed .197/.250/.351 with seven home runs in 225 plate appearances for a 70 wRC+ and a -0.3 fWAR. However, it’s worth it to dig a little deeper.

His final call-up was around the trade deadline and from Jul. 25 until the end of the season, the third baseman slashed .214/.277/.414 with seven home runs in 159 plate appearances,  along with a 7.5 BB% and a 25.2 K% for a respectable 95 wRC+.

Last season, the 25-year-old split his time between third base and the outfield. In 256.1 innings at the hot corner, Barger had a 2 DRS and a -5 OAA, a perfect example of a mixed bag. The Blue Jays have focused a bit of his development toward the outfield over the past two seasons, so maybe that’s where they see him in the future.

Orelvis Martínez

Lastly, we have Orelvis Martínez, who is an absolute wild card.

As per usual, Martínez mashed in 2024, slashing .267/.346/.523 with 17 home runs with the Buffalo Bisons. The 23-year-old even got a look with the Blue Jays for a week, hitting a single for his first career hit. However, he was suspended for 80 games shortly after and only returned late in the season for the Bisons.

Martínez mainly played second base last season, committing 12 errors in 316 innings with the Bisons. Yeah, that’s worrisome. At third base, Martínez committed just three errors in 195.1 innings, never having more than six errors which date back to 2021 in 105 innings.

Realistically, Martínez is everything the Blue Jays could want at third base, as he has a strong arm with the best power in the team’s organization. But with the loss of a large portion of his 2024 season, the question is: Is Martínez ready to be an MLB regular?

Time will tell who the Blue Jays go with but there’s a good chance it’ll be Clement to start the season until one of the three prospects shows they deserve it.