The Brewers may have been involved, but it’s the Blue Jays who ultimately land free agent shortstop Marcus Semien.
Infielder Marcus Semien is in agreement with the Toronto Blue Jays on a one-year, $18 million contract, a source familiar with the deal tells ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 26, 2021
Semien, 30, gets a one-year deal to demonstrate that his crummy 2020 season was more flukey than his MVP-caliber 2019 season (the reality is probably neither). From there, he’ll hit free agency again, but this time joining a monster shortstop class that projects right now to include Javy Báez, Carlos Correa, Trevor Story, Francisco Lindor, and Corey Seager, among others. My word.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays spending $18 million on an infielder would seem to take them out of the market for another big bat in the infield – for example, Kris Bryant and all those trade rumors. I’ll ponder the implications a bit more, but the way I see it, the Blue Jays figure to have one of Semien or Bo Bichette handle third base (with the other at shortstop (I guess it’s possible Semien could play second base, and Cavan Biggio goes to third?)), and that’s probably that for their major offensive upgrades this offseason after having already added George Springer to center field. That team could be mighty good if they add another quality starter.
Oh, and a stray aside: if Semien is worth $18 million on a bounce-back, one-year deal, shouldn’t Bryant easily be worth his $19.5 million deal?