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Blue Jays: Five big reasons to love Marcus Semien’s signing

By Chris Henderson

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 19: Marcus Semien #10 of the Oakland Athletics hits an RBI double scoring Tommy La Stella #3 against the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the seventh inning at RingCentral Coliseum on September 19, 2020 in Oakland, California. The Athletics won the game 6-0. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 19: Marcus Semien #10 of the Oakland Athletics hits an RBI double scoring Tommy La Stella #3 against the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the seventh inning at RingCentral Coliseum on September 19, 2020 in Oakland, California. The Athletics won the game 6-0. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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Blue Jays
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 14: George Springer #4 of the Houston Astros watches the flight of a two run home run ball hit off of Tyler Glasnow #20 of the Tampa Bay Rays during the fifth inning in Game Four of the American League Championship Series at PETCO Park on October 14, 2020 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

The lineup just got downright scary

After signing Springer, the Blue Jays had already vastly improved their offence. By bringing Semien on board, they should be able to slug with the best of ’em.

Honestly, it’s pretty hard to predict how Charlie Montoyo might fill out his lineup card, but there are several good answers. The only thing that’s really lacking at all is left-handed bats, but that’s not as big of an issue when you’re sporting dangerous right-handed hitters throughout the starting nine.

My assumption is that Semien will start the year batting in the top third of the order. Even after a down year, don’t forget that he slashed .285/.369/.522 with 33 home runs, 43 doubles and 92 RBI in 2019. I don’t think we should expect that level of production, but he’s still a true asset to the offence.

However, if it were up to me, I’d start the season like this:

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

If you would stack them up differently, there’s probably a good argument for doing so. You could arguably move almost anyone up in the order, other than Jansen. There’s also Randal Grichuk to consider, who could get plenty of playing time, especially against southpaws.

The point is, Montoyo is probably looking at a pretty fluid situation, and one where he can ride the hot hands. With so many dangerous hitters available, the Blue Jays won’t be giving opposing pitchers many breaks. That’s a nice place for a skipper to be.

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