Ernie Clement was out of the Blue Jays’ starting lineup for the second game in a row on Wednesday, another sign that a sore hip is still limiting one of Toronto’s most productive hitters. He was sitting on a.293 average, leading the club with 86 hits and 20 doubles while tying for first with 129 total bases.
That makes his absence matter beyond one night’s lineup card. Clement is widely expected to be the American League’s starting second baseman at the All-Star game, and the Blue Jays are asking him to stay off the field anyway while they work through a run of injuries that has already pushed the bullpen hard.
John Schneider said Clement has been dealing with the issue for a bit now and has been grinding through it. The manager added that the club felt it was better to give him some rest, and that sometimes players have to be protected from themselves. Schneider also said Clement was probably annoyed not to be playing Wednesday.
The timing is awkward because Toronto already leaned on seven pitchers in Tuesday’s 9-7 extra-innings loss to the Houston Astros. The bullpen entered play Wednesday with 343 innings this season, a heavy workload for a staff that has often had to pick up the slack when starters could not stay deep into games. Mason Fluharty had made 42 appearances through 81 games, Braydon Fisher had 40, Tyler Rogers was tied for third with 39 and Louis Varland had 38 after throwing two innings Monday to earn his 16th save.
That workload is part of the pressure around Clement’s absence. He is not just filling a spot; he is one of the Blue Jays’ most reliable bats, and Toronto is choosing caution even while the schedule keeps moving. The club also has Cody Ponce back around the team after his right anterior cruciate ligament sprain in the first week of the season and surgery in April, with Schneider saying he was brought up to Toronto to break up the monotony of rehab and get back around the guys.
For now, the answer is simple and unsatisfying: Clement is being rested because the hip is still an issue, and the Blue Jays are not saying when he will return. If the rest helps, Toronto gets one of its best hitters back. If it does not, a lineup already thinned by injuries will have to keep managing without him.
