Blue Jays come out of nowhere with Marcus Semien signing

The Toronto Blue Jays added a big bat, and some defensive versality in the infield with an important signing.

The team has officially inked veteran infielder Marcus Semien to a one-year, $18 million contract on Tuesday evening.

The 30-year old, who mostly played shortstop in his six-year stint with the Oakland Athletics, will slot over to second base with Toronto due to the fact they prioritize developing youngster Bo Bichette at short. Cavan Biggio is expected to spend most of the time at third base while Vladimir Guerrero Jr will be primarily a first baseman but also available to slot in at third when needed.

Semien had an inconsistent 2020 pandemic shortened season, but finished off strong and excelled in the playoffs. His career postseason numbers through nine games is: .371 batting average, 1.021 OPS, 13 hits, two home runs, and four RBI.

He had a breakout campaign in 2019 where he finished third in MVP voting after posting 33 homers and 92 RBI in 162 games.