Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Toronto Blue Jays utility man Ernie Clement had the season of his life in 2025.
Despite his many critics in his first two seasons as a Blue Jay, the first thing many Blue Jays fans learned in 2025 is that Ernie Clement is an everyday player.
Clement was picked up as a free agent signing in March of 2023, after his release by the A’s earlier that month.
Fans weren’t thrilled with taking a castoff from the Oakland Athletics (one who only played 6 games for one of the worst teams in baseball).
He played 29 games with the Jays 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.
Clement producing 5.3 fWAR over the past two regular seasons combined was a pretty good indication that he can thrive in an everyday role.
Clement’s regular season durability and record breaking playoff run makes him an everyday player going forward
Clement entered the playoffs with a 75 wRC+ against right-handed pitching in 401 plate appearances during the regular season.
Clement logged 157 games in the regular season, the highest number among all Blue Jays.
Clement’s .411/.416/.582 line in the playoffs changes the conversation a little bit.
Nothing the 29-year-old did in the playoffs was completely out of character, he still just hit one home run and drew one walk, relying heavily on his balls in play to land outside the reach of fielders.
He also didn’t become a Statcast darling, collecting an MLB record 30 playoff hits without the benefit of a single barrel.
Ernie Clement ⤵️
– Fourth-round pick
– Never ranked higher than 18th in the Guardians system
– DFA’d twice
He just set a postseason record for hits 😳
The fact that Clement did so well against top competition is notable, and he hit .407/.421/.537 against right-handers with an almost equal expected line (.385/.411/.514).
Blue Jays Ernie Clement in 2025 #Postseason
– 30 hits (most all-time)
– 10 multi-hit games (most all-time)
– 13-game hit streak (5th-longest all-time)
– .411 Batting Average (6th-highest all-time)
Clement’s excellent glove gives him a high floor, and his October run is enough to hammer home the idea that he isn’t hopeless against right-handers.
As long as that’s the case, there’s no need to think of him as anything but a lineup mainstay in every matchup.
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.
