What should the Blue Jays do when Andrés Giménez comes back?

The Toronto Blue Jays have gone 9-4 over their past 13 games and are above .500 for the first time in over a month despite being without prized off-season acquisition Andrés Giménez, who’s on the injured list with a quad strain. 

The Jays have been deploying Ernie Clement at second base most of the past two weeks, while upstart Addison Barger has been the primary option at third base. Michael Stefanic was called up from Triple-A Buffalo on May 8th when Giménez went on the injured list and has filled in the utility infielder role that was previously occupied by Barger.

With Giménez getting closer to returning to action, it’s fair to wonder how the playing time will be divvied up. Stefanic is the obvious choice to be demoted back to the minors, but both Clement and Barger have made cases for everyday playing time.

What should the Blue Jays do when Andrés Giménez comes back?

The 29-year-old Clement has hit .268 with a home run, two doubles, six RBI, and a .692 OPS over his last 12 games, and has made zero errors in over 100 innings at second base.

Giménez was hitting .195 with a .577 OPS prior to getting hurt, but was still worth 0.9 bWAR thanks to his strong defense and baserunning.

The Venezuela native got off to a strong start this year when he smashed three home runs in the first five games of the season, but he hit just .173 in April and May.

Giménez likely won't be going anywhere due to the fact he's owed $49 million over the next two-and-a-half seasons, but Clement has earned the occasional start, especially against lefties. 

And then there's Barger, who has taken his opportunity and run with it.

Barger's hitting .356 with six doubles, a pair of home runs, eight RBI, and a 1.030 OPS since Giménez’s injury, and has been serving as the Blue jays primary third baseman.

The 25-year-old has also become an advanced stats darling, with a max exit velocity of 116.5 miles per hour, an average exit velocity of 95.2 mph and fielding run value in the 85th percentile.

After looking overwhelmed early on in his career, the muscular left-handed hitter looks like a different player over the last couple of weeks and has become a difference maker for a team that's lacked pop for most of the year.

As of now, Barger has earned the right to be the Blue Jays' everyday third baseman once Giménez returns. He's capable of playing the outfield (and playing it well), but his swing looks the best when he's in the lineup everyday.

He'd be in the top percentile in nearly every batting statistic if he had enough at-bats to qualify for Baseball Savant's leaderboards, and he's been worth 0.9 fWAR over the past two weeks, which is the second-highest mark in baseball.

At the end of the day, these are all good problems for the Blue Jays. Clement would immediately become one of the best utility options in all of baseball, Barger would get the runway necessary for him to continue his breakout season and Giménez could work himself back into full health at the keystone.