Blue Jays: Playing for your infield job will be a great thing

The Blue Jays are very quickly building some enviable infield depth right now, and the competition for playing time should be a very good thing.

The vibes around the Blue Jays are pretty great at the moment, and it’s not all due to the fact that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has finally arrived in the big leagues.

Beating up on Oakland has certainy helped, but they’re on a nice run of 8-3 in their last 11, and have a chance to sweep their season Athletics in today’s game. Despite a few significant injuries, they’ve been receiving some solid contributions across the board, and there are a lot of reasons to like this team right now.

One of the biggest things to like right now is the play of the infielders, and just how many guys are contributing right now. Guerrero has looked more than ready in his first two contests, but the veterans around the diamond are making some noise in their own right. Eric Sogard has been a revelation since arriving in Toronto, and even though he can’t sustain a slash line of .394/.444/.608, he’s been a very valuable contributor, especially at the top of the lineup, and should continue to see significant playing time.

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Arguably the best position player for the Blue Jays so far this season has been Freddy Galvis, who is expected back in the lineup for the series finale, and has been worth every penny of the free agent contract he signed this winter. Brandon Drury has been hitting the ball with authority over the last few games and made an easy transition to second after Vlad Jr’s arrival, and Justin Smoak is quietly putting together another solid season as well. Rowdy Tellez has been pretty fun to watch too.

That’s not even all of the infield options, as Richard Urena was more than deserving of a big league job before he lost his spot to a numbers game, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is starting to come around in Buffalo as well. There’s also Cavan Biggio, who many feel is ready to be promoted to the big leagues right now, and Bo Bichette‘s broken hand won’t keep him out all year either. At some point Devon Travis could even factor into the infield picture if and when he’s healthy, and Charlie Montoyo is going to have quite the situation on his hands.

Fortunately the Blue Jays do have the benefit of several guys having minor league flexibility, and not everyone is healthy at the moment either, but there’s no doubt that these guys are going to be in a competition for playing time. I’m sure that Montoyo will do his best to juggle guys around the infield, but chances are it’s often going to come down to riding the hot hand. Right now guys like Sogard and even Drury are just that, but there’s no guarantee that the month of May will bring the same story.

At the end of the day, competition is a good thing as long as it’s a healthy one, and with the excitement starting to build around this young team, my guess is that extra motivation can only be a good thing.