Speaking in a post-season news conference on Wednesday, Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins was non-committal with regards to Ernie Clement being the team's second baseman in 2027.

Atkins told reporters, including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet, that Clement will have to earn his opportunity. The Blue Jays obviously like Clement and Atkins said he's always answered the challenge. And it's clear he'll have to do it again this offseason if he wants to earn an every day role. If he doesn't, it seems like the Jays are comfortable with him having a prominent role as a utility player again. 

Atkins isn't the only one who doesn't seem sold on the infielder in an everyday role: Recently, a pair of Toronto radio hosts said they wouldn't mind relegating him to the bench, or moving on from him altogether.

A 30-year-old native of Rochester, N.Y., who will turn 31 in March, is a six-year veteran of the Cleveland Guardians, Oakland Athletics and Blue Jays. 

He's found a home with Toronto over the last four years, playing 139 games or more in each of the last three. He's hit .270 with the Jays, popping 31 home runs, and he had a generational run in the playoffs in 2025, hitting .411 with six doubles in 18 games.

This season was a different story, to a degree. He hit .259 with nine home runs and 48 RBIs, which isn't awful on the surface, but it came with a .285 on-base percentage, a 78 OPS+ and a 44.4 percent chase rate, which was in the 2nd percentile, per Baseball Savant.

Clement earned the every day starting job at second base this season after the team allowed Bo Bichette to leave in free agency and slid Andres Gimenez back over to shortstop full-time.

Clement is a very well-liked player, as fans appreciate his story of perseverance, his playoff heroics and his general dirt-dog mindset. He was voted into the All-Star Game this season as a starter at second base.

Sure. Any time you finish last in runs scored, there's room to upgrade. However, those spots to upgrade are limited.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Kazuma Okamoto and Alejandro Kirk are set at their positions while Gimenez's salary likely dictates that he's set as well. Anthony Santander is probably set at the DH spot, at least initially, meaning that there's only a handful of outfield spots - and second base available.

If the team wants to find a spot to upgrade, Clement's spot could be the one.