Shift is second nature for Semien

The Blue Jays had yet to end their playoff drought, and Bo Bichette was two years away from being drafted, the last time Marcus Semien played a major-league game at second base.

But Toronto’s new infielder says the transition from shortstop has been smooth so far.

“Second base is a new venture for me, but at the same time it’s still up the middle,” Semien said Monday on a Zoom call from the Jays’ spring training complex in Dunedin, Fla.

The 30-year-old Semien was with the Chicago White Sox the last time he played second on Sept. 26, 2014.

He has made 29 appearances there, but none with the Oakland Athletics, where he spent the past six seasons before signing with the Jays as a free agent in January.

It has been a while, to be sure, but Semien has made significant improvements in the field over the course of his career. He sees a position change in his ninth year as just another challenge.

“The double-play turn and the double-play feed are the biggest things for me, that I will work on every day,” Semien said on the first day of full-squad workouts. “I’ve been working on it in the off-season, and now we’re able to get on the field every day and do it with coaches and have (shortstop Bo Bichette) feed. Today went smooth, and I think it’s going to get better every day.”

> Pearson patrol: Nate Pearson may be the Jays’ top prospect and among the most promising pitchers in baseball, but his first big-league season wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. The 24-year-old flame-thrower struggled with command in his first taste of the majors, walking 13 batters in 18 innings and conceding five home runs.

According to manager Charlie Montoyo, those struggles were the best thing that could have happened to Pearson, because of the way he reacted. The right-hander was lights out by his last appearance: five strikeouts in two innings of relief against the Tampa Bay Rays in their American League wildcard series.

“He knows that you don’t pitch behind in the count,” Montoyo said Monday.