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Semien has spent the previous six seasons with the Oakland Athletics. At 30 years old, Semien’s best season came in 2019 when he hit .285 and played in all 162 games. He hit 33 home runs and had 92 RBI’s, and stole 10 bases.
In that incredible 2019 season, Semien was 4th in MLB with an 8.1 WAR, only behind Cody Bellinger (9), Alex Bregman (8.4), and Mike Trout (8.3).
Semien took a bit of a step back in the shortened 2020 season. In 53 games, he hit .223 with seven home runs and 23 RBI’s. The Blue Jays will be betting on him having a big bounce-back season.
In Oakland, Semien was only used at shortstop. However, back in 2013 and 2014, while with the Chicago White Sox, he did play some third base. With Bichette being the franchise shortstop, there’s a chance that Semien sees more playing time back at third base if Guerrero stays at first. He also has experience at second base, so there is a lot of flexibility that can be utilized.
18 million is a lot to pay for a utility player, so odds are the Blue Jays and Semien have some sort of understanding that he will be getting into the lineup very often. In five seasons between 2015-2019, he played over 150 in four of those seasons. Only two games in his entire career was he playing DH.
Adding another infielder on a one-year deal allows Groshans and Martin to develop and not be rushed.
If the Blue Jays can get closer to the 2019 version of Marcus Semien in 2021, this signing will look amazing. If not, there is limited risk in this deal.
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