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

Alex Gonzalez 2.0?

2010- Alex Gonzalez

The Blue Jays must have missed having Alex Gonzalez in their lineup at shortstop, so they signed a second player by the same name. The latter Gonzalez had an unexpected breakout in 2010, finding a power stroke he’d never displayed at the big league level. He hit 17 home runs in 85 games before he traded to the Atlanta Braves.

He was a solid addition and ultimately parlayed into the Blue Jays getting Yunel Escobar, which is a rock solid return for a player signed to a one year deal. He did earn an astonishing 3.5 bWAR in his short 85 game stint, so I guess I can see why the Braves were interested.

2011-12- Yunel Escobar

Escobar was traded from the Braves, mostly because of reported attitude issues. Other than the “eye black” incident, he wasn’t a big issue for the Blue Jays by any means. He was a ready presence on both sides of the ball, and spent a lot of time at the top of the lineup, mostly because of a lack of a more appropriate option.

He was excellent in 2011 hitting .290/.369/.413, but dropped down to .253 the following year. He was largely underrated during his time in Toronto, earning 4.7 bWAR in 2011 before following up with 2.9 in 2012. Not bad for a guy they got for a half season of Alex Gonzalez.

2013-14- Jose Reyes

After 2.5 seasons of Escobar at the helm, the Blue Jays pulled the trigger on the infamous deal with the Marlins, and thus the Jose Reyes era started in Toronto. He played very well and appeared to be the solution at the top of the lineup, but his season finished prematurely after a severe ankle injury limited him to just 93 games. He did hit .296, and then followed up with a .287 season with 30 stolen bases in 2014. He earned 2.6 bWAR in 2013, and 3.2 during the following season.

Of course, his defence was another story, which is what ultimately lead to the Blue Jays looking to make a move at the position.