It was 2021. Hale was a part of Terry Francona\u2019s staff in Cleveland. Clement was in his fifth season with the organization that drafted him and first on its 40-man roster, shuffling up and down between triple-A and the majors.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was trying to make his way, sustain a role on a team,\u201d Hale remembered. \u201cHe knew he had to do whatever it takes. And when we called his number, whatever it was for, he was ready to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Second base, shortstop, left field, third base. Lay down a bunt, hit-and-run, steal a bag, move a runner. Pinch-hit, pinch-run, pitch in a blowout. Hey, if our first two catchers go down, you know how to do up the leg guards, right?\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was unglamorous. The last guy on the bench, constantly on the verge of being optioned. Doing the dirty work that superstars and first-round picks aren\u2019t asked to do. But Clement never saw it that way. He was a big-leaguer. It\u2019s all he ever wanted to be.<\/p>\n
And now, five years later, he\u2019s an all-star, named the American League\u2019s starter at second base by virtue of receiving more votes in the first round of balloting than any other player in the league. Over three million of them. Only 100,000 or so shy of the total Shohei Ohtani \u2014\u00a0one of the game\u2019s most lauded and recognizable players \u2014\u00a0received. More than Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, Freddie Freeman, Juan Soto.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be in the same conversation with some of these guys is pretty funny to me, honestly,\u201d Clement said Thursday, sitting in the Blue Jays dugout wearing a black hoodie and blue toque. \u201cI got DFA’ed twice. I’ve been released. I’ve been optioned more times than I can count. But I just stuck around long enough to earn more and more opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kindly direct your powers to the greater good if you saw this coming when the Blue Jays signed Clement to a minor-league deal in 2023 after he was released by the Oakland Athletics midway through spring training. At the time, MLB Trade Rumors described Clement\u2019s addition \u2014\u00a0fairly \u2014 as \u201ca pure depth move<\/a>\u201d noting Toronto was already rostering established big-leaguers such as Cavan Biggio and Santiago Espinal on their bench.<\/p>\n With Clement carrying a .204\/.261\/.264 batting line and 50 OPS+ over 312 MLB plate appearances prior, why would anyone come to a different conclusion? Even Clement says he joined the Blue Jays purely because they offered the guarantee of four-to-five triple-A starts per week to begin the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n Defensively versatile and relatively quick, Clement had opportunities elsewhere to ride a big-league bench, entering as a defensive substitution here and pinch-running there, until he was inevitably caught up in a roster crunch and DFA\u2019ed again. But he was determined to play every day, even if it was in the minors, and prove he was capable of a more regular role.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt like I was so close when I was in Cleveland to finding success,\u201d Clement said. \u201cI just wanted to play because I trusted myself and I wanted to bet on myself. I thought that I could continue to get better and find success.\u201d<\/p>\n Hale, who watched Clement struggle to find his stride amidst inconsistent playing time throughout 2022, leading to the late-season DFA that took him to Oakland, agreed.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s not easy being a utility player at the big-league level,\u201d Hale said. \u201cThose types of players, they play every day in the minor leagues. All of a sudden, you get an opportunity in the big leagues, you’re in a different role, maybe you might be playing two or three times a week. That\u2019s one of the biggest adjustments that a player will go through.\u201d<\/p>\n