4 weak spots the Blue Jays are going to need to address sooner rather than later

Despite making various moves during the past 2023-24 offseason with hopes to make the team better,  the Toronto Blue Jays have been off to a slow start in 2024. With a 6-7 record, they currently sit last in the American League East, but more worrisome had been the fact that various aspects of their starting lineup have been quite underwhelming coming out of the gate. Some of the struggles by the players have been so extensive that it has limited the team’s success to date.

Here, we will take a look at five key weak spots in their roster makeup that the Jays need to seriously address before the season goes beyond recovery.

Third base

The hot corner has been a position of concern for the Jays. Thus far, they have already tried the likes of Justin Turner, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Ernie Clement at third, but each of them have had their own deficiencies, limiting their overall effectiveness in the role.

Turner is by far the best option from an offensive standpoint, given that he currently leads the team in batting average (.342), OPS (1.026), hits (13), runs (7) and doubles (6). However, he is a huge liability in the field at third base, as in just two starts at the position this year, he has already committed two errors and has a -1 DRS. Kiner-Falefa has been practically the exact opposite, displaying stellar defense at the hot corner but struggling to put up some offensive numbers. He has just 3 runs scored, 2 RBI and was hitting close to just .200 until his recent hitting spurt in the past three games. Clement is about right in the middle, not hurting the Jays too much, but at the same time not providing enough to make a huge difference. To date, he has posted a .242 average, .672 OPS, with 5 runs scored, 1 home run and 2 RBI offensively and a -1 DRS and a 1.000 fielding percentage defensively at third.

As a result, to rectify the situation, the Jays can consider the possibility of promoting one of their promising prospects in Addison Barger. Not only has he been providing steady defense, he has been off to a hot start at the plate with Buffalo, hitting a solid .308 with a .926 OPS, 7 runs scored, 5 doubles, a home run and 11 RBI while maintaining a 1:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in just 10 games played to date. He appeared ready last season before running into some injury woes that ended up holding him back significantly. So it may be the right time just about now to see what he can do to help the big league club.