The Blue Jays appear to have abandoned the idea of using Spencer Horwitz as a middle infielder and will instead have the 26-year-old focus primarily on his duties at first base and designated hitter.
When Horwitz was promoted from Triple-A Buffalo in early June he almost immediately became the Jays’ starting second baseman. Despite limited experience, the converted first baseman saw 36 of his first 50 starts come at second.
Since prospect Will Wagner arrived on Aug. 12 it has been a much different story. Horwitz has started at second just once and it seems unlikely he will appear much there in the future. Aside from occasional spot starts, the recent experiment has officially come to an end.
“What he has done at second, I think for a guy who hasn’t really played there, has been great at this level,” Jays manager John Schneider said. “With who we have now, yeah, his playing time has shifted to more first and DH.
“There are going to be a handful of games where he’ll be there, we’ll try to match up defence with certain starting pitchers. I think the fact that he can do it is good, but I think long term you’ll probably see him at first, rather than second.”
When Horwitz initially took over second base, he seemed like a curious choice. The former 24th-round pick had spent almost his entire five-year career in the minors at first. In 287 games, he made just 18 appearances at second and 11 of them occurred earlier this year.
The move appeared to be made out of desperation, but there was logic behind it. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was firmly entrenched at first base and there was skepticism about whether Horwitz would hit for enough power to justify regular at-bats at DH. Setting aside the defensive question marks, the bat would play better at second, where it’s typically harder to find offensive upside.
During the audition, which lasted approximately two months, Horwitz exceeded expectations. A noticeable lack of foot speed didn’t get in his way of making routine plays and he committed just one error. while .
Horwitz didn’t do anything wrong before losing reps at second. Instead, it was the circumstances that changed. The Jays acquired Wagner as part of the trade for left-hander Yusei Kikuchi in late July and his emergence presented Schneider with the option of using a more natural middle infielder. With an opening at DH, and Guerrero occasionally playing third, the change could be made without costing Horwitz any at-bats.
Wagner’s strong play has since given him early dibs on next year’s starting job at second. Through 19 games, he is batting .328 with eight extra-base hits and an .864 on-base plus slugging percentage. The 26-year-old isn’t going to win a Gold Glove any time soon, but compared to Horwitz, he has more range and a lot more experience at the position.
“Wags has been impressive, he has been a guy who has caught everyone’s eyes with the way he has gone about it,” Schneider said before the Jays travelled to Atlanta for the start of a three-game series vs. the Braves.
“I think he has been good (defensively). Physically, he’s probably a little bit tired and we’re trying to protect him a little bit from that standpoint. But I think he has been as advertised and I think there’s a lot more room to get better this off-season. I like his game clock and his game awareness.”
Even without Horwitz under consideration at second, the Jays have no shortage of options next season. Wagner should enter spring training as the clear-cut favourite to win the job but he’ll receive competition from Leo Jimenez, Ernie Clement and possibly prospect Orelvis Martinez, who is currently suspended after testing positive for a banned substance.
Worst-case scenario, if all those options fail, the Jays know they could revisit using Horwitz at second. He’s done it before and he can do it again, but with a sprint speed that ranks in the league’s seventh percentile and baserunning value that sits fourth, priority will be given to more versatile defenders.
Which brings the Jays back to where this all began, with questions about whether Horwitz will hit enough to warrant everyday at-bats at DH. He has done well so far with a .260 average and well-above average .770 OPS, but he’s also never hit more than 13 homers in a season and DH might be one of the only spots where the Jays are able to add a big power bat to their lineup.
The only certainty is if Horwitz continues hitting the Jays will keep finding ways to get him into the lineup, but the emergence of Wagner at second means there’s one fewer spot on the diamond where it will happen on a regular basis.
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