Can Ernie Clement Really Replace Bo Bichette?

Out with one infielder and in with the next. The Bo Bichette sweepstakes sent baseball into a bit of a frenzy this offseason, but we figured out pretty quickly that Ernie Clement would be next in line, hoping to fill a pretty large vacancy. Obviously, it’s early, but today, I'll be doing an early-season check-up on Clement and how he’s stacking up on an offense that was setting the world on fire last fall.

Stats updated prior to games on May 6.

Ernie Clement's Background 

To provide some context, this is Clement’s journey to this point. He was a fourth-round draft pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, when the now Cleveland Guardians selected him 132nd overall. The Rochester, NY native played his college ball at Virginia, and by the time he cracked the majors in 2021, he quickly gained a reputation as a versatile defender with good contact skills. After stints with the Guardians and Athletics, he signed a minor league contract with the Blue Jays in 2023.

In 2023, his batting average topped out at .380 over a 30-game sample. He then settled in as a near-average hitter in 2024 and '25. Meanwhile, over the next couple of seasons, the Jays started to show their hand as to what they’d do with Bo Bichette. Bichette would end up taking his talents to the Big Apple, as he now dons a New York Mets jersey. This opened up plenty of playing time. Enter everyday second baseman Ernie Clement.

The Blue Jays' New Second Baseman

So, how is the new Toronto second baseman doing thus far? Let’s start with the basics. He’s doing something that not many others can do in a day and age when opposing pitchers are clocking triple-digit velocities with over 12, and sometimes 18, inches of ride: He’s hitting .289. Bichette was well known for hugging the .300 mark in his time with the Jays. If Clement can make a habit of that, it’ll be one seismically important box checked off. 

Clement has thrived primarily on pull-side contact so far, and the 30-year-old is leveraging that to get on base frequently.

He is currently squaring the ball up 35.0% of the time, good enough to be nestled in the 95th percentile among league hitters. The savvy veteran may not hit for a ton of power, but he’s managing to time up the ball extremely well. 

For another strength, Clement literally does not fall victim to strikeouts. While the league average rate is in the mid-20s, Clement is striking out at a minuscule clip of 6.8%. This puts him in the 100th percentile as one of the toughest strikeouts in all of baseball. Right along with that stat, Clement is hardly whiffing, coming up empty just 14.0% of the time (95th percentile). The next natural question would be whether or not he chases, and this is where his profile becomes extra intriguing. 

Clement actually has one of the worst chase rates in MLB, fishing out of the zone 43.0% of the time (fourth percentile). Put simply, this is somebody who ventures after out-of-zone pitches, but his bat-to-ball skills are so elite that he still finds a way to make contact and put the ball in play. 

What Clement Needs To Work On

There’s an argument to be made that Clement's plate discipline habits could catch up with him. His walk rate implies that, as he’s sporting a 3.4% walk rate (fourth percentile). This is a middle infielder who trusts his hands to flare out and make contact with anything that looks relatively appetizing out of the pitcher’s hand. 

Another weakness for Clement is his power, but that simply isn’t a part of his game. While the walk numbers could rise with a slight change in approach, building a power profile may be a bit more difficult for someone who operates with a six-foot, 170-pound frame. Most second basemen aren’t described as mashers anyway, so Clement fits right in with his peers while having a batting average well above the league watermark. 

Overall, Ernie Clement is showing he can go toe-to-toe with Bo Bichette from a contact perspective. While the 20 home run seasons that fans came to expect from Bichette may not be in the cards, Clement can still do his job as a pesky on-base option in place of one of the better infielders in today’s game. 

With Clement sliding into the starting second base role, it's up to him (along with his teammates) to make up for the offensive void left by Bichette's departure. How is Clement holding up his end of the bargain to start the 2026 season? We dove into his advanced analytics in the video above!