<p>When it was first reported the Blue Jays would receive three players in exchange for trading Yusei Kikuchi to the Houston Astros, Will Wagner was not the headliner coming back to Toronto.</p>
<p>Jake Bloss, with three big league starts under his belt with the Astros, was considered the top biller of the trade, followed by outfielder Joey Loperfido &#8211; a left-handed hitting outfielder who was known to hit the ball well in triple-A. It turned out Wagner had the best second-half performance of all the players acquired by the Blue Jays in that deal.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Bloss figures to get some starts with the Blue Jays in 2025 and Loperfido has the inside track on the left field job, but nobody has more potential than Wagner. The 26-year-old hit the ground running in mid-August and didn&#8217;t let up until a knee injury took him out late in the season. 24 games is a small sample size, but Wagner is projected to post a 0.9 fWAR season in 2025, and projections forecast his playing time increasing to 65 games with the Blue Jays.</p>
<h2>Wagner and his role in 2025</h2>
<p>Maybe it was a case of &#8220;there&#8217;s nobody else&#8221;, but the Blue Jays handed him the reins to the starting second baseman job the moment he landed in Toronto, so the club felt comfortable with a rookie infielder commanding the keystone down the stretch. No spot on the diamond was more of a revolving door for the Blue Jays in 2024 than second base, so it must say a lot about their view of Wagner that they gave him the keys to the job within days of joining the roster.</p>
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<p>After the <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/early-reaction-to-the-blue-jays-deal-for-andres-gimenez">acquisition of Andrés Giménez</a> earlier this winter, the Blue Jays&#8217; infield picture became crystal clear for others (once they traded Spencer Horwitz to the Guardians), but foggy for others like Wagner. Before the Giménez trade, Wagner had the inside track on the starting second baseman position, but how does he factor into the Blue Jays&#8217; crowded outfield picture now?</p>
<p>As great as a story that Wagner&#8217;s debut was, it&#8217;s a little presumptuous to assume he can carry that over into 2025 straight out of the gate. By trading for Giménez, the Blue Jays give themselves an insurance policy in case Wagner&#8217;s bat comes back down to earth. His splits heavily favour hitting against right-handed pitching, and mixing and matching at second base made little sense for the Blue Jays, anyway. On a competitive team, Wagner might only be a platoon bat, but he&#8217;ll play a larger part on a team devoid of offence like the Blue Jays.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Will Power ‼️</p>
<p>It&#39;s Will Wagner&#39;s first <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MLB</a> home run! <a href="https://t.co/aB64rQrTx3">pic.twitter.com/aB64rQrTx3</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1828597296835051599?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Wagner also has a wealth of experience at third base in the minor leagues, so there&#8217;s a potential to groom him into a starter over at the<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/examining-how-orelvis-martinez-could-potentially-hit-his-way-onto-the-blue-jays-opening-day-roster"> hot corner</a> as well. Ernie Clement filled in admirably at third for the Blue Jays, but the upper hand goes to the player who has the highest offensive upside at that position. And if the Blue Jays don&#8217;t sign a designated hitter like Pete Alonso or J.D. Martinez, there&#8217;s also the potential for Wagner to get the bulk of at-bats against righties as Toronto&#8217;s primary DH.</p>
<p>He wouldn&#8217;t serve as protection for Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but with a 92.5% zone contact rate, his bat-to-ball skills are among the highest on the roster. That&#8217;s a Luis Arráez echelon of contact hitting, and there are a lot of parallels between the two in their batted ball profiles. Plus, Wagner is a lefty to boot in a lineup with a lack of impact left-handed hitters outside of Daulton Varsho.</p>
<p>Yes, we have to consider there&#8217;s the chance Wagner spends some time back in the minors in 2025. It would be premature to anoint him the starting second baseman after 24 games in the big leagues. But from that brief sample size down the stretch, Wagner looks like a big league player.</p>
<p>Second base is the Houston native&#8217;s natural position, but for Wagner to see regular ABs with the Blue Jays in 2025, he&#8217;ll have to stand out as Toronto&#8217;s third baseman or designated hitter. However, <a href="https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/bluejays/will-wagner-695238#:~:text=A%20below%2Daverage%20runner%20with,2024%20just%20before%20the%20trade.">MLB.com&#8217;s scouting report</a> sheds some light on why the Astros dealt Wagner in the first place:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;A sure-handed defender, he lacks the quickness for second base and the arm strength for third, and the Astros moved him primarily to first base in 2024 just before the trade.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>If the Blue Jays plan on deploying Wagner as a Horwitz-light version in 2025, they will face the same roster challenges they encountered last year when it comes to juggling Guerrero between first, the DH spot, and the occasional spot at third while trying to put Wagner in where he can.</p>
<h2>Blue Jays using Wagner as the DH</h2>
<p>Until now, if the Blue Jays make no further additions to their lineup, Wagner&#8217;s clearest path to seeing the most playing time lies at the designated hitter position. I think most would prefer a power-hitting external option, but if the Blue Jays opt to go with internal candidates, Wagner is the best DH option. His plate discipline numbers weren&#8217;t great with the Blue Jays, as evidenced by his .337 OBP in 24 games in the majors, but Wagner&#8217;s career .402 OBP in 290 career minor league games profiles well for a typical leadoff hitter.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Will Wagner, the son of former closer Billy Wagner, rips a double on the first pitch he sees in The Show! <a href="https://t.co/AWjGMd7ffg">pic.twitter.com/AWjGMd7ffg</a></p>
<p>&mdash; MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1823177503076196704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 13, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>If it feels like we&#8217;ve seen this move before, it&#8217;s because we have. Wagner was similar to Horwitz before him and Cavan Biggio before that. The Blue Jays have a knack for recycling high OBP/high contact left-handed infielders these last few years.</p>
<p>We still need to see more from Wagner before instilling him at the top of the lineup, but if things continue on this current trajectory, we might encounter another groundswell situation like last year when Davis Schneider was the better leadoff option than George Springer out of the gate. Don’t be alarmed if the Blue Jays experiment with Wagner at the top of the order in 2025. If the coaching staff is a little more flexible in their lineup construction, it may happen sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>Wagner&#8217;s bat will determine whether he stays in this lineup. John Schneider will find a spot to pencil Wagner into the lineup if he continues to make contact and put the ball in play. Like many of these young players, he&#8217;ll get a lot of runway to prove himself if the Blue Jays don&#8217;t add any further external candidates to their roster.</p>
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When it was first reported the Blue Jays would receive three players in exchange for trading Yusei Kikuchi to the Houston Astros, Will Wagner was not the headliner coming back to Toronto.

Jake Bloss, with three big league starts under his belt with the Astros, was considered the top biller of the trade, followed by outfielder Joey Loperfido - a left-handed hitting outfielder who was known to hit the ball well in triple-A. It turned out Wagner had the best second-half performance of all the players acquired by the Blue Jays in that deal.



Bloss figures to get some starts with the Blue Jays in 2025 and Loperfido has the inside track on the left field job, but nobody has more potential than Wagner. The 26-year-old hit the ground running in mid-August and didn't let up until a knee injury took him out late in the season. 24 games is a small sample size, but Wagner is projected to post a 0.9 fWAR season in 2025, and projections forecast his playing time increasing to 65 games with the Blue Jays.
<h2>Wagner and his role in 2025</h2>
Maybe it was a case of "there's nobody else", but the Blue Jays handed him the reins to the starting second baseman job the moment he landed in Toronto, so the club felt comfortable with a rookie infielder commanding the keystone down the stretch. No spot on the diamond was more of a revolving door for the Blue Jays in 2024 than second base, so it must say a lot about their view of Wagner that they gave him the keys to the job within days of joining the roster.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2110" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="330"></div>
After the <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/early-reaction-to-the-blue-jays-deal-for-andres-gimenez">acquisition of Andrés Giménez</a> earlier this winter, the Blue Jays' infield picture became crystal clear for others (once they traded Spencer Horwitz to the Guardians), but foggy for others like Wagner. Before the Giménez trade, Wagner had the inside track on the starting second baseman position, but how does he factor into the Blue Jays' crowded outfield picture now?

As great as a story that Wagner's debut was, it's a little presumptuous to assume he can carry that over into 2025 straight out of the gate. By trading for Giménez, the Blue Jays give themselves an insurance policy in case Wagner's bat comes back down to earth. His splits heavily favour hitting against right-handed pitching, and mixing and matching at second base made little sense for the Blue Jays, anyway. On a competitive team, Wagner might only be a platoon bat, but he'll play a larger part on a team devoid of offence like the Blue Jays.

https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1828597296835051599

Wagner also has a wealth of experience at third base in the minor leagues, so there's a potential to groom him into a starter over at the<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/examining-how-orelvis-martinez-could-potentially-hit-his-way-onto-the-blue-jays-opening-day-roster"> hot corner</a> as well. Ernie Clement filled in admirably at third for the Blue Jays, but the upper hand goes to the player who has the highest offensive upside at that position. And if the Blue Jays don't sign a designated hitter like Pete Alonso or J.D. Martinez, there's also the potential for Wagner to get the bulk of at-bats against righties as Toronto's primary DH.

He wouldn't serve as protection for Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but with a 92.5% zone contact rate, his bat-to-ball skills are among the highest on the roster. That's a Luis Arráez echelon of contact hitting, and there are a lot of parallels between the two in their batted ball profiles. Plus, Wagner is a lefty to boot in a lineup with a lack of impact left-handed hitters outside of Daulton Varsho.

Yes, we have to consider there's the chance Wagner spends some time back in the minors in 2025. It would be premature to anoint him the starting second baseman after 24 games in the big leagues. But from that brief sample size down the stretch, Wagner looks like a big league player.

Second base is the Houston native's natural position, but for Wagner to see regular ABs with the Blue Jays in 2025, he'll have to stand out as Toronto's third baseman or designated hitter. However, <a href="https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/bluejays/will-wagner-695238#:~:text=A%20below%2Daverage%20runner%20with,2024%20just%20before%20the%20trade.">MLB.com's scouting report</a> sheds some light on why the Astros dealt Wagner in the first place:
<blockquote>"A sure-handed defender, he lacks the quickness for second base and the arm strength for third, and the Astros moved him primarily to first base in 2024 just before the trade."</blockquote>
If the Blue Jays plan on deploying Wagner as a Horwitz-light version in 2025, they will face the same roster challenges they encountered last year when it comes to juggling Guerrero between first, the DH spot, and the occasional spot at third while trying to put Wagner in where he can.
<h2>Blue Jays using Wagner as the DH</h2>
Until now, if the Blue Jays make no further additions to their lineup, Wagner's clearest path to seeing the most playing time lies at the designated hitter position. I think most would prefer a power-hitting external option, but if the Blue Jays opt to go with internal candidates, Wagner is the best DH option. His plate discipline numbers weren't great with the Blue Jays, as evidenced by his .337 OBP in 24 games in the majors, but Wagner's career .402 OBP in 290 career minor league games profiles well for a typical leadoff hitter.

https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1823177503076196704

If it feels like we've seen this move before, it's because we have. Wagner was similar to Horwitz before him and Cavan Biggio before that. The Blue Jays have a knack for recycling high OBP/high contact left-handed infielders these last few years.

We still need to see more from Wagner before instilling him at the top of the lineup, but if things continue on this current trajectory, we might encounter another groundswell situation like last year when Davis Schneider was the better leadoff option than George Springer out of the gate. Don’t be alarmed if the Blue Jays experiment with Wagner at the top of the order in 2025. If the coaching staff is a little more flexible in their lineup construction, it may happen sooner rather than later.

Wagner's bat will determine whether he stays in this lineup. John Schneider will find a spot to pencil Wagner into the lineup if he continues to make contact and put the ball in play. Like many of these young players, he'll get a lot of runway to prove himself if the Blue Jays don't add any further external candidates to their roster.
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