Not the Jays that Semien remembers
Infield addition is impressed by the talent, and knows he’s here to help get that talent to the post-season
When the curtain rises on the Blue Jays’ 2021 season, at Yankee Stadium on April Fool’s Day, the visitors will roll out a starting lineup that features a fourth different second baseman in as many seasons.
Manning the keystone for the Jays will be 30-year-old Marcus Semien, “the other guy” of the two major position-player free agents signed by the club this winter.
Semien is only here on a one-year deal, presumably both for what he perceives as a shot at winning and to also rebuild his value after a disappointing 2020, so he’s not likely the guy to stake a longterm claim to a position that will have seen eight different opening day starters in the last 10 years.
He is, though, someone who can make a big impact on the Jays’ fortunes this year, both with the bat and the glove.
Semien was a victim of the stop-and-start, pandemic shortened season in 2020. Coming off a career year in which he finished third in American League MVP voting, Semien suffered an oblique injury but chose to play through it, ultimately missing only a week in late August.
“I was proud of the way I managed it,” Semien said of his injury, “even though the numbers didn’t necessarily look great. I was able to finish the season strong and get healthy by the end while not missing too many games, so that’s something that I take pride in — being on the field no matter what you may be playing through, because eventually it will get better.”
And it did get much better for him.
Semien’s OPS over the last three weeks of the season was more than 150 points better than it had been to that point, and he went off in October to the tune of a .407/.484/.667 line in seven post-season games.
The last four of those playoff games were against George Springer’s Houston Astros, just a handful of the nearly 100 games Springer and Semien have played against each other as American League West division foes.
Springer, for his part, is thrilled that they’re now teammates.
“One, he’s a great player,” said the Blue Jays’ $150-million (U.S.) man.
“Playing against him for as long as I did, he was never an easy out. He works his tail off. He’s a special player, he’s a smart player. He understands the game, but he works his butt off. I’m happy to be here with him. I’ve seen him get a lot of hits against us, so I’m really looking forward to having him on my side.”
Semien is just as excited to be a Jay, even though he has never faced off against most of the team’s exciting young players.
“We didn’t see them in 2020 and I think (in 2019) we played against them on (Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s) debut,” said Semien.
He’s right, Oakland was in town when Guerrero began his big-league career, nearly going deep in his first game. That April weekend was the last time Semien’s A’s played against the Jays, which was before the debuts of Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio and Nate Pearson, to name a few, and before Lourdes Gurriel Jr. returned from exile as a slugging, big-armed outfielder.
The last Jays team Semien saw in person, featuring a lineup that included Brandon Drury, Alen Hanson, Freddy Galvis, Billy McKinney and Justin Smoak, looks nothing like the club he joined this winter.
Semien believes that one of the reasons he and Springer were brought in was to help the young core of players work their way to a post-season return. He’s been in the playoffs three years in a row now, Springer four.
“There’s a level of confidence that I’m excited about,” Semien observed, after just a couple of days of full-squad workouts. “They brought in veteran guys to kind of show them the way, how to navigate a full season. A lot of these guys may have more talent than the vets but I think when you get the experience and mesh it together with talent, it’s going to be something special.”
Semien has the talent — his .892 OPS in 2019 shows that rather plainly.
So does his work on defence, where he turned himself into an above-average shortstop, improving from -7 defensive runs saved in his first two years in Oakland to 26 over 2018 and ’19. He’ll be playing second base for his new team, since the Jays weren’t going to move Bichette off his position for just the one year.
Semien hasn’t played second since 2014, but he knows what he’ll have to concentrate on this spring in order to make the position switch as smooth as possible. “Just the angle off the bat from a righty, a lot more balls that slice away from you,” Semien said. “The double-play turn and double-play feed are the biggest things for me that I will work on every day. I’ve been working on it in the offseason, and now we’re able to get on a field every day and do it.”