Blue Jays: Josh Harrison could be a short-term second base option

The Toronto Blue Jays enter the new year after an interesting 2021 campaign that featured one of the strongest batting orders in the league that lead numerous offence-based categories but still fell short of making the playoffs. While 91 wins are nothing to slouch at, the Blue Jays play in a tough AL East division where losing close games earlier in the season can come back to bite them, evident by missing the postseason falling just one win short of a playoff tiebreaker.

Looking at the overall roster picture, the recent departures of Marcus Semien, Steven Matz, and Robbie Ray are going to be felt in the 2022 campaign but the front office has already made some waves by extending Jose Berrios and signing Kevin Gausman and Yimi Garcia before the owners locked out the players in early December. Once a new CBA is in place, the club should hopefully be in the mix to keep improving the team, whether it be through trading for or signing players to fill in some weaker areas on the roster.

One area that has a few question marks heading into Spring Training is second base. With Semien now gone and Santiago Espinal most likely getting the most reps at third base (pending outside reinforcements), it looks like Cavan Biggio and Otto Lopez will be battling for playing time on the right side of the diamond. Both players have their own set of pros and cons and could be debated until the wee hours of the nighttime, but the front office could look to bring in a veteran free agent who, for the right price, could be an insurance option at second base and for the infield for a Jays club looking to contend this upcoming season.

A former sixth-round pick of the Chicago Cubs back in 2008, infielder Josh Harrison heads to free agency after spending last season split between the Washington Nationals and Oakland Athletics. Harrison started to strong in Washington, slashing .294/.366/.434 with an .800 OPS through 90 games before being traded to the Oakland Athletics at the trade deadline. The righty-batter took a step back in the Bay Area, finishing the year with a .637 OPS but still posted a .254 batting average with 22 RBI during the last two months of the season.

While Blue Jays fans are hoping for big names like Ramirez or Chapman, adding INF Josh Harrison could provide the club some much-needed security in 2022.

A two-time All-Star, Harrison has spent most of his career at second base to the tune of 545 games with a .986 fielding percentage and 23 bDRS. The Ohio product also has experience at third base, boasting a .963 fielding percentage and 24 bDRS through 299 games and 130 games split between left and right field, which could bode well if the Blue Jays experience some injury troubles throughout the year or if Espinal does not live up to the hype of last season.

Although Biggio did experience his fair share of injury troubles last year, it seems like the club could start to transition him to a utility role moving forward, a move that could provide some added insurance through the course of a 162 game season. Biggio swings from the left-side, an area the Jays lack at the moment, and is ultimately a part of the Blue Jays core moving forward unless he is involved in an offseason deal. The Jays do have internal options like Lopez and Kevin Smith on the 40-man who can play multiple infield position but having Harrison on the roster as additional depth doesn’t impact the pocketbook on a short-term deal and provides a safety net if the Blue Jays strike out on adding another infielder like Jose Ramirez or Matt Chapman this offseason.

While it would not be the flashiest signing and is not the big-name fans are hoping for, adding Josh Harrison on a short term deal with the Blue Jays is a move that makes sense and adds provided security in the event that some of the club’s younger players struggle at the Major League level or if they fall on the injured list.