Blue Jays: The SS standard, and our expectations of Goins

The post-Gonzalez era

2003- Mike Bordick/Woodward

Woodward was back for 104 games in 2003, and hit .261/.316/.395 with seven home runs and 45 RBI and 0.8 WAR. He shared the responsibility with Mike Bordick, who played in 102 games in his final season as a big leaguer. Bordick was solid enough as a 37 year old, hitting .274/.340/.382 and playing solid defence on his way to a 1.7 WAR campaign.

2003 would be the only year Woodward would play more than 100 games in a single season , and Bordick finished his career on a personal high note, but the team finished just short of the playoff picture with 86 wins.

2004- Chris Gomez

Chris Gomez was in Toronto for just a single season, and he performed pretty well in his 109 games as the primary shortstop at the age of 33. He was an adequate defensive player, but didn’t offer much in the power department. He certainly served his purpose as a stopgap solution,  earning 1.0 WAR. Woodward also played a decent amount of games in his final season as a Blue Jay.

2005- Russ Adams

Russ Adams was the Blue Jays’ first round pick in 2002, and was handed the starting gig in 2005 at the age of 24. It was his best season in his short time in the big leagues, as he slashed .256/.325/.380, with 27 doubles, 63 RBI, and 0.9 bWAR. Unfortunately he he unable to build on his solid rookie season, and was out of the league by 2009. His defence let him down early on, and eventually his bat followed suit, as he was an example of how not all 1st round picks work out.