Blue Jays: Should Vladimir Guerrero Jr. play defence anymore this year?

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has struggled with the transition to first base this season, and now that Blue Jays are close to the playoffs, he should put his glove away for the rest of the year.

It’s been a difficult sophomore season for Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and not much has gone according to plan.

The 21-year-old started the year as a third baseman back during Spring Training, but things changed after the break due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He was eventually moved across the diamond to first base, largely due to conditioning issues once he returned to Summer Camp, and it’s been anything but a seamless transition. In fact, with the way that he’s performed on defence lately, I’m not sure that Vlad Jr. should do anything other than DH for the remainder of the season.

Whether it’s scooping low throws in the dirt, or deciding when to pursue a ground ball or when to retreat to his bag, it’s clear that Guerrero Jr. has more work to do before he’s comfortable with his new position. In some ways that’s fair given the lack of experience he has there, but with the Blue Jays’ currently position in the standings they just don’t have time for someone to be learning on the job.

More from Jays Journal

• Matt Chapman has been exactly what the Blue Jays needed
• Blue Jays: The goalposts are moving in the right direction
• Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays advance to the Championship Series
• Blue Jays: Comparisons for Alek Manoah’s Second Season
• Blue Jays: Adam Cimber, the unlikely decision King

As things currently stand they’re 4.0 ahead of the 9th place Mariners in the AL Wild Card race, and their magic number is also down to four games. Fangraphs currently has them as 97.9% favourites to make the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean they can take it for granted. Charlie Montoyo needs to manage over the last week with the goal of taking control of their own destiny. When you’re playing a team like the Yankees for four games, a weak link like Guerrero Jr’s defence can make a significant difference.

With Rowdy Tellez still on the Injured List, Montoyo can’t turn to the most obvious option at first base. That said, Travis Shaw has plenty of experience at the position, and he was the one to sub in for Vlad Jr. on Sunday, showing that the manager is losing patience for his young star’s glove work. In fact, the Blue Jays have a few options thanks to the flexibility of players like Cavan Biggio, and they could stick to using Guerrero Jr. as the DH. For example:

Vs. RHP

1- Biggio (3B)
2- Bichette (SS)
3- Hernandez (RF)
4- Gurriel Jr. (LF)
5- Vlad Jr. (DH)
6- Panik (2B)
7- Grichuk (CF)
8- Shaw (1B)
9-  Jansen (C)

Obviously you could throw Jonathan Villar in the mix at second base for Panik, or Biggio could even slide to first base if Montoyo wants to add a sixth position to his resume for the 2020 season. He’s done it before, and in fact, I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if he made an appearance at first before the year is out, especially in light of Vlad Jr’s struggles. Regardless, Montoyo still has some options against southpaws, such as:

Vs. LHP

1- Biggio (3B)
2- Bichette (SS)
3- Hernandez (RF)
4- Gurriel Jr. (LF)
5- Vlad Jr. (DH)
6- Grichuk (CF)
7- Villar (2B)
8- Shaw (1B)
9- Jansen (C)

Vlad Jr. playing defence would be especially helpful against lefties, as it would give Montoyo the option to DH someone like Hernandez and start Jonathan Davis in the outfield. That said, Davis could also be a very useful late-inning pinch runner/defensive replacement, so I don’t know that it’s as big of a deal as it might be at a different stage of the season. They could also bring Santiago Espinal back, who could start at third, shifting Biggio to first, or you could still start Panik against southpaws.

What’s most important going forward is that Montoyo starts using his best lineup possible, and at this late stage of the season I don’t know that Vlad Jr. can be counted on to play defence in that scenario. I have plenty of faith in him at first base over the long-term, but while the Blue Jays look to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2016, it might be wise to have him stick to hitting for now.