Toronto Blue Jays infielder Ernie Clement and outfielder Nathan Lukes have been named as potential trade candidates this offseason.
With the Blue Jays missing the playoffs this past season, the team is likely to make some changes to their lineup.
Could that involve moving one of, or both of, Clement and Lukes? According to MLB Trade Rumors, both Clement and Lukes are names to watch for this offseason when it comes to trades.
The Case for Trading Ernie Clement
The 30-year-old Clement, who spent much of the year as Toronto’s second baseman, just finished up his fourth season with the Blue Jays, which was very much a season of two halves.
In the first half of the season, Clement was among the most productive second basemen in the league. He was named an All-Star for the first time, accumulating the most votes in the American League as a result.
However, his production absolutely cratered in the second half of the year, and his final slash line of .259/.285/.364 was extremely disappointing considering the strong start to the season that he had.
According to MLBTR, Clement is projected to make $7.6 million in arbitration. He has already been mentioned as a non-tender candidate, though the team would much rather prefer to trade him and extract some value from him than non-tender him and let him hit free agency.
Given Clement’s value as a utility player that can play many positions around the infield, the odds are that Toronto ends up keeping him. But a trade cannot be completely ruled out given his expected high arbitration salary after a down year at the plate.
The Case for Trading Nathan Lukes
Another potential trade candidate is Lukes, the Blue Jays’ right fielder who also just completed his fourth season for Toronto.
The 32-year-old Lukes was solid for Toronto, with an overall slash line of .275/.327/.387 despite a slow start to the year due to health issues stemming from a bout of vertigo. Lukes’s defense in right field was also elite, and he is up for the American League Gold Glove award for right fielders this season.
Luke is projected to make only $2.1 million in arbitration. That’s not much money at all, especially for a Blue Jays team that is among the biggest spenders in the game.
However, the Blue Jays may be shopping in the upper-tier market for free-agent outfielders this offseason, and if they sign, say, a Seiya Suzuki to come in and play right field for the team next season and beyond, it could potentially push Lukes out, even though he’s a valuable player for the team.
The odds are that the Blue Jays would keep Lukes on their roster next season, especially since his projected salary in arbitration is so low compared to his upside in production, and especially since he could slot in as the team’s fourth outfielder if they sign a free-agent bat.
But at the same time, given Lukes would have surplus trade value, an offseason trade also cannot be ruled out.
Ernie Clement & Nathan Lukes Named Blue Jays Trade Candidates