Why the 2026 Blue Jays Second Baseman Deserves His Starting All-Star Spot
Toronto’s Ernie Clement will officially start in his first All-Star Game after receiving 3,232,932 votes from fans. The only player with more was the National League’s Shohei Ohtani with 3,341,257. As the player with the most votes in the AL, Clement automatically gets the starting second baseman spot. Picked 132nd overall in 2017 by the Cleveland Indians, the 30-year-old’s path to success has not been easy. His Major League debut wasn’t until June 13, 2021. He was up and down between the Majors and the Minors until he was DFA’d on September 21st, 2022. A couple of days later, the Oakland Athletics claimed Clement off waivers. After two months, he was DFA’d again, sent to the minors, yet invited to Spring Training, but ultimately released on March 12th, 2023. On March 14th, the Blue Jays signed the New York native as a free agent to a Minor League contract, where he was also invited to Spring Training. Even then, the utility player still had work to do and was often between the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons and Toronto. He was finally up to the Majors for good on October 2nd, 2023.
In Clement’s first full Major League season, the then-third baseman’s 2024 stats were a .263 AVG and a .692 OPS. While his individual stats were good, the 2024 Toronto Blue Jays placed last in the AL East and missed the Postseason entirely. Luckily, both Clement and his team improved significantly in 2025 and reached the World Series Game Seven before a devastating loss to the LA Dodgers. However, the then-29-year-old stole Toronto’s hearts by setting a single postseason record with 30 hits. His success that year earned him a spot on the USA’s 2026 World Baseball Classic roster, though he didn’t play much. With the loss of all-star shortstop Bo Bichette, the Jays' infield needed a shift. Andrés Giménez took over shortstop, while rookie Kazuma Okamoto claimed third, earning Clement a spot as the starting second baseman.
Despite starting 2026 in a bit of a slump with the rest of his team, the 30-year-old second baseman now leads his team in hits with 90 and batting average with .297. He's also tied for the AL lead in doubles with 20, and his hits place him third in that category, as does his batting average. Clement went from getting DFA’d twice to the most popular player in the AL in just four years. When asked about his all-star honors and coaches, the second baseman stated, “I just feel like since I’ve been here, they’ve let me be Ernie and just fully lean into who I am as a person and a player, and they’ve really helped me identify the good qualities in Ernie the baseball player.” It’s clear that getting signed to Toronto was the best thing to happen to Clement’s baseball career, and hopefully, this accolade is just one of many to come.
