Blue Jays: What trading Aledmys Diaz says about the 2019 shortstop plans

The Blue Jays appear to be confident in their depth at shortstop this offseason, as they traded away Aledmys Diaz, who had the most games played at the position last year.

When the Blue Jays entered the 2017 offseason, they knew their top priority was to add some depth to their middle infield. A year later, they’re likely ridding themselves of both players that were brought in to help for the 2018 season.

Yangervis Solarte is expected to be non-tendered eventually, but the decision has already been made on Aledmys Diaz, who was traded to the Houston Astros on Saturday in exchange for RHP Trent Thornton. The move was made possible because the Blue Jays’ infield situation has drastically improved from a year ago, even if Troy Tulowitzki hasn’t played in a single game since.

Tulowitzki is working toward a comeback and it’s possible that he could factor into the equation for next season, but the Blue Jays should be covered there either way. I would expect that moving Diaz means a few things for the future plans, and also shows that Ross Atkins has plenty of faith in some of his younger players as options.

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The likely starter to begin next year will be Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who greatly impressed in a 65 game audition last year. He displayed some great baseball instincts, a rocket for an arm, and the type of toolbox that should make him successful in the infield, regardless of where he plays. His numbers were definitely better at second base last year, but it feels like a waste to have that arm on the short side of the infield.

Gurriel will have support beyond the Blue Jays hoping that Tulowitzki can stay healthy. They’ve also got Richard Urena on the 40 man roster, someone who has impressed Atkins a great deal, and a player that the GM feels has some untapped potential. Of course, there’s also Bo Bichette, who is getting closer to being ready for the call to the big leagues.

The number two ranked prospect in the Blue Jays system had a good season in Double-A with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in 2018, and it’s expected that he’ll begin next year in Buffalo at the next level of his development. They have no reason to rush him to the highest level, but there’s a pretty good chance he could handle the challenge right now if he were asked.

The Blue Jays will likely continue to shop at least one more infielder, as the options at second and third base are pretty lengthy as well. Even without Diaz they’ll be looking at a depth chart that could include Devon Travis and Brandon Drury fighting for playing time, especially once Vladimir Guerrero Jr. comes up to take over full-time duties at third. That’s not including Solarte (who again, looks like he’ll be released), Gurriel Jr., Urena, and a hopefully healthy Tulowitzki.

Letting go of Diaz also tells me that the Blue Jays are in fact comfortable with Urena as the back-up infielder on next year’s team, assuming again that Tulowitzki doesn’t end up breaking camp on the active roster. Diaz represented the only other true shortstop option on the team, so Urena should now have a pretty good chance to make the club out of spring training. Drury has some limited experience there, but he’s not a real back-up option. They also have Gunner Heidt in the organization, but they’ll have to protect him on the 40 man if they aim to keep him around.

Speaking of the 40 man roster, the Blue Jays will likely have to make a few more moves before their offseason is over, at least if they aim to protect more of their young assets. While it might have made more sense to hang on to someone like Diaz over a Travis or Solarte, that also means it would be easier to trade him and get something useful in return, which it appears the Blue Jays have accomplished.

Diaz was a nice player and definitely ended up being a win for Ross Atkins’ trade record, even if he played for the team in a down year and won’t leave a lasting impact. However, when you consider that he was acquired for J.B. Woodman, who the Cardinals eventually released, then it looks a lot better when the Blue Jays got a potential starting pitching out of the deal in the end.

It also means that they’re ready to move on to their minor league depth at shortstop, something they couldn’t do last offseason. I have nothing but confidence that Gurriel will find a way to shine there in 2019, but if he can’t or he gets injured for some reason, the Blue Jays should have the in-house resources to make things work. It’s a nice change from a year ago.