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Toronto Blue Jays have glaring weakness at first base

By Jordan Wevers

Apr 25, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Michael Saunders (21) and center fielder Ezequiel Carrera (3) and right fielder Jose Bautista (19) talk during a break in the seventh inning in a game against the Chicago White Sox at Rogers Centre. The Chicago White Sox won 7-5. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 25, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Michael Saunders (21) and center fielder Ezequiel Carrera (3) and right fielder Jose Bautista (19) talk during a break in the seventh inning in a game against the Chicago White Sox at Rogers Centre. The Chicago White Sox won 7-5. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports /
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For the Toronto Blue Jays, the availability of Ezequiel Carrera now and Devon Travis in a few weeks time means Michael Saunders should get reps over at first base.

Whether or not Chris Colabello knowingly took PEDs in order to find his way onto an MLB roster is not the question. Before testing positive and effectively being banned 80 games for his alleged involvement, the Toronto Blue Jays first baseman had a fairly productive 2015, slashing .321/367/.520 in 101 games.

That was last year though. Amidst other issues currently facing the defending AL East champions, the glaring problem is at first base. The platoon between Colabello and Justin Smoak in 2015 worked in the Blue Jays favor. The OPS at the position last year was .809, good for 11th in the league and with 39 home runs hit, the Jays ranked third in that spot.

You have to remember that much of the production that came from Toronto’s platoon at first base in 2015 was due to Edwin Encarnacion‘s involvement. Smoak started 71 games there to Colabello’s 29, but Encarnacion’s 59 games played there obviously gave a nice boost to the positional numbers.

Colabello was called up on May 5 last season, so April was primarily a platoon of Encarnacion and Smoak at first. The duo wasn’t terrible that month, hitting .211 with six home runs and 16 RBI. With Edwin’s play at first base factored into 2016, the club has hit .223 with two home runs and 17 RBI. Without his production, Colabello and Smoak have managed only a .140 AVG with zero round trippers and a paltry three runs batted in.

The Blue Jays need to keep Encarnacion fresh and that’s why regular starts at designated hitter are vital to his success. There’s some sentiment, now that Colabello is gone, that Smoak will be able to get into more of a routine with regular playing time and thus increase his productivity. That is wishful thinking.

Smoak, a switch hitter, is traditionally more successful against right-handed pitching. Or is he? He saw only 40 PAs versus southpaws in 2015 and hit .256. He had 288 PAs against righties and hit .222. From a career perspective, he hits exactly .224 against both and only experiences a mild boost to his OBP and power numbers when facing righties on the mound.

Either way you slice it, a career .224/.309/.390 hitter at first base does not an everyday player make. John Gibbons will scatter random starts for Double E here and there at first base, but the Blue Jays are better offensively and defensively when he gets his reps at DH.

Apr 6, 2016; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Ezequiel Carrera (3) at bat at Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 6, 2016; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Ezequiel Carrera (3) at bat at Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

One possible option the Blue Jays could explore is moving Michael Saunders to first base when Devon Travis returns, moving either him or Ryan Goins to left field. Former Marlins top prospect Matt Dominguez was called up yesterday. The Jays had been playing him at first base and third with Triple-A Buffalo. He sported a .311/.333/.475 line with two homers and 14 RBI in 17 games there before the promotion.

Dominguez will almost surely get some starts at first base, but has always had issues getting on-base at the big league level. His career .275 OBP in 357 games dating back to 2011 is by no means an upgrade over Smoak. His career K% of 18.1 percent is a slight upgrade over Smoak’s 23 percent, but at the end of the day, a 26-year-old Dominguez has not been on an MLB roster since 2014 for a reason. At least Smoak has that on his resume.

First base is a glaring hole for the Toronto Blue Jays this year. At a position traditionally rife with power numbers in this organization dating back to guys like Adam Lind and before him Carlos Delgado, Smoak and Colabello have a combined slugging percentage of .160. There has to be a better answer than either of those options for a team struggling to repeat their successes from last year.

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Saunders’ offense (.345-2-6) is good enough to be in the lineup regularly. If he can play first base close to as capable as Smoak can, Gibbons should make the switch. The move would also take some of the stress off his knees/legs by not having to run around the field turf outfield at Rogers Centre. With the recent surge of outfielder Ezequiel Carrera and the impending return of Travis, this move makes more sense than platooning two fringe MLB players there. The reward does not outweigh the risk of keeping things as is.

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