‘Wherever the team needs me’: Vlad holds his own at third base

TORONTO — Those weren’t old highlights of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s rookie season. Five years later, he’s back at third base.

Guerrero hadn’t started at the hot corner since Sept. 27, 2019, in the final days of his rookie season. He’s made a couple of late-game cameos since then and routinely takes ground balls at the position, including earlier this week in Chicago and on Sunday morning at Rogers Centre ahead of the game against the Pirates. But it was starting to feel like that dream was dead.

The Pirates didn’t exactly pepper Guerrero, sending just two ground balls his way, so his most notable moment at third base was when he burned around it from first to score on a Daniel Vogelbach two-run double. This doesn’t feel like something that will happen just once, though, making the Blue Jays’ 5-4 win over the Pirates the beginning of a new chapter for Guerrero.

“I signed as a third baseman, so it is my favorite position,” Guerrero said through a club interpreter. “But I’m the kind of person and player who thinks that if you can play both corners, first and third the right way, that will give your manager and your team more options — like today. Regardless of if third is my favorite position, I’ll be prepared. First or third, wherever the team needs me.”

As a rookie, Guerrero’s defense wasn’t exactly inspiring. There’s a reason he made the move across the diamond to first base, where he won a Gold Glove Award in 2022 and has looked like a natural with his quick footwork and good hands. Even if Guerrero can make a start or two a month at third base to optimize the Blue Jays’ lineup, though, that would add some fascinating value, especially as this offense looks for any spark it can get.

“It’s really going to be a lot of fun today to see Vladdy playing third base, but that’s been something we’ve been working on collectively. He’ll get some starts there,” GM Ross Atkins said Sunday on MLB Network Radio. “He’s got an incredible ability and feel for the game of baseball. I think his arm and his hands will allow him to play some third base for us. That’s another way to deploy a lineup that maybe creates a little more offense.”

Guerrero was worth -20 Outs Above Average (OAA) defensively in 2019, but his biggest challenge back then was on balls he had to move in on. Guerrero struggled at times to field those balls and make the throw across the diamond under control, but he has years of experience under his belt now and is in far better shape, physically.

This defensive formation leaves Justin Turner at first base and Isiah Kiner-Falefa at second, sliding Cavan Biggio and Ernie Clement to the bench for the day.

Manager John Schneider said Guerrero could start at third “a couple days out of a week and a half,” but he reiterated that this isn’t a position change. So many factors outside of Guerrero’s own plan need to line up for it to be a third-base day — particularly a good matchup for Turner and Vogelbach — but it looks like the Blue Jays are now comfortable with Guerrero’s side of the bargain.

“Vladdy’s comfortable there,” Schneider said. “Today was kind of a target date with everything that he was working through to put himself in a position to be ready. Vogelbach is swinging the bat well, too, so it worked out today.”

It’s worth a try, and while this part can’t be measured, Guerrero has always loved playing third base. After moving to first base in 2020, Guerrero went to the Dominican Winter League that winter to play for Leones del Escogido, where he worked to show the Blue Jays that he was still capable of handling third base in the big leagues.

“I came to Escogido to play third base and to prepare to play third,” Guerrero said at the time. “That’s one of the main things I’m here for. I’m going to focus on third. Next year, I’m going back to my third base.”

Even on days when Vlad doesn’t start at third, this can make the Blue Jays more versatile. Take the ninth inning of the finale, for example, when Kevin Kiermaier came in to play center field, a string of position swaps led Guerrero back to first. This can take many shapes.

It’s taken a while, but here comes his chance. Guerrero is at his best when he’s happy and loose on the field — and at this point, the Blue Jays need to try anything they can to kickstart a run.