BLUE JAYS SHORTSTOP FULL
BLUE JAYS SHORTSTOP FREE

BLUE JAYS SHORTSTOP FULL

They'll miss Marcus Semien, for sure, but that's mitigated if George Springer plays a full season.

is a really solid glue guy who flies under the radar with so many stars around. The industry consensus was that he'd move off shortstop, but he stuck there, which is a credit to his work ethic and confidence. Bo Bichette just flat hits, and he was a surprise on defense. has the kind of body that will always require a lot of maintenance, but he looked great last year and was in crush mode all season long. They're athletic, hungry and only getting better. There's no realistic/foreseeable alternative.'They're the team to beat, for me - best young crop of position players out there.

(Likeliest) primary shortstop: Reyes Less Likely: John McDonald? Tony Fernandez? Mario Mendoza? Doesn't matter.

BLUE JAYS SHORTSTOP FREE

My favoured back up shortstop scenario would be a free agent/trade second baseman covering for Reyes when needed and Tolleson being the next option. Maybe we'll have the joyous, festive news of his resigning at Christmas again. The Jays, and all of us, would love to have Muni back on a minor league deal but the rumours don't sound very hopeful for that. I can't see AA offering him a major league deal. My customary Munenori Kawasaki plug: He could be brought back for the infield back up position. The extra-organizational potentials to play second can also back up Reyes: Luis Valbuena, Jed Lowrie, Asdrubal Cabrera, Stephen Drew etc can all play SS. The Jays have a bunch of shortstop prospects in the lower minors but none will be a major league factor next year. Izturis might be the more skilled option but Tolleson is a much better value. Diaz and Goins aren't in the conversation for me. Diaz has a good glove but pitches look like tic tacs to him, Goins has a superb glove but pitches look like skittles to him, Tolleson has a good glove, a serviceable bat but limited MLB experience at SS, Izturis has decent bat and glove but has been a bust so far. In consideration from the organization would be: Steve Tolleson, Ryan Goins, Jonathan Diaz or Maicer Izturis. We'll want to give those legs rest when we can. The only real question at short is who will back him up. He'll be overpaid in 2015 and he's flawed but who else out there (who's available) could replace his production? We have a solid, known commodity and I don't think that's something we should mess with-especially when there are so many other holes to fill on the team. His wRC+ was down in 2014 but made up for it with some remarkably efficient baserunning. He's a sparkplug at the top of the lineup. In contrast to Wells and Rios, Reyes is producing in the vicinity of what his contract would suggest-especially offensively. He's not going to be traded either-although both Vernon Wells and Alex Rios once made me eat my words about that. His struggles are not Jeter-esque by any means and if he has the support of Lawrie's range at third, he's defence should be more like what he did in 2013. It's not going to happen though and I'm not concerned. From a purely pragmatic viewpoint, Reyes at this point in his career/where his body is at, would move a position to the right or left. It's difficult to conceive of any possibility where Jose Reyes is not the everyday shortstop. Short is one among 2 positions of certainty on the team.

This one should be briefer and relatively unambiguous. Our next stop around the horn is shortstop.

Blue jays shortstop