Outlining the Blue Jays plan for Will Wagner
Up until two days ago, Will Wagner had a job as the Blue Jays starting 2nd baseman. Now, his role with the team is up in the air.
The Jays recent acquisition of Gold-Glove 2nd baseman Andres Gimenez, squeezes Wagner out of a starting role, and sees him moved into that of a utility player.
While it's true that Wagner could see some time at DH, as many are theorising, with the Jays wanting to give Orelvis Martinez - who has much more power than Wagner - playing time after his return from suspension, Wagner finds himself in a position not unlike former Blue Jay Cavan Biggio.
The Blue Jays will experiment with Will Wagner as a super-sub.
While Wagner played almost exclusively at 2nd base last year, he appeared for a few innings at first and also has the capacity to play third. Expect to see him move around the diamond a lot during spring training.
Of course, Wagner getting time at DH is not out of the question.
He had three hits in his major league debut and three weeks later, became the first Blue Jays rookie to have a five hit game. So clearly he can get on base, which is also something the Blue Jays need.
Wagner is certainly not a prototypical DH though.
And with the way Orelvis Martinez mashes baseballs, the Blue Jays will want to get his power into the line-up as much as they can. A platoon situation is possible.
But rotation young stars in the DH spot is not ideal for their development.
Plus, although he is expected to fully recovered from his knee injury that cut his rookie campaign short, it is possible that the Jays give him some extra days at the beginning of the season, either on the IL or as DH.
It also wouldn't be surprising to see Wagner take some balls in left this spring. While a trade could still happen, left field (and centre until the return of Daulton Varsho from injury) remains a bit of an open battle.
Wagner will still be a part of the Blue Jays plan going forward. Just in a different way than he previously thought.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 12 | 188 ANSWERS Outlining the Blue Jays plan for Will Wagner Where will Wagner see most of his playing time? | ||
| 1st base | 13 | 6.9 % |
| 3rd base | 80 | 42.6 % |
| DH | 52 | 27.7 % |
| oufield | 43 | 22.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
