Blue Jays Half-Billion Dollar Man Needs to Move Down Lineup After Long Slump
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The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again, but expecting a different result, so why are the Toronto Blue Jays doing it almost every single day?
Batting at the top of the order is something that players earn through grit, sweat, tears, and level of production, but each time Vladimir Guerrero Jr. trots out somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3, it diminishes the honor.
Now, players slump and get themselves in a hole. It is the longest professional sport, and definitely expected, but when a player has four homers on the year and is batting a whopping .213 in his last 15 games, he needs to slide down.
Unfortunately, right now, when momentum gets rolling, it dies when Guerrero comes around, as grounding into double plays is a real problem for him this season as he seemingly can't get it out of the infield.
Then there is the issue of Vlad simply not running out of the box. There have been multiple occasions where he could have gotten on base, or at least be very close, and he is still strides away from the bag.
Effort is something someone can control, and no matter how bad he is personally doing, that should never happen.
A Breakdown of Vladdy’s Downward Spiral
Time and time again, Vlad has had the privilege of getting the most at-bats, but does he deserve to be there at this time? No, rookies are outshining him by far. But he didn't start his season this way.
In March and April, Vladdy was slashing .354/.438/.469 bringing his OPS over .900, but his OPS (as well as the entire slash line) has dropped off. In May, his batting average dropped a full 120 points, but his OPS saw the most damage as it fell just shy of .625.
It gets worse. Even though his batting average is on the rise, both his on-base percentage and slugging percentage are nowhere near the .300 mark. Ruts happen, but with half a billion contract, they have to get more, and that includes doing the little things like running to first base.
If Guerrero Jr. still had options, the best move for him would simply be to go back to the minors and figure some things out, because his rhythm, timing, and confidence have been utterly destroyed. However, management can't send him down unless he approves.
So, manager John Schneider needs to hurt his feelings and either bench him for a few games, but if they simply move him down, that might be enough to flip the script.
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Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.