Fastball

Toronto Blue Jays Gold Glove Finalist Earns Extra Money Around Holiday Season

Ernie Clement put together a solid year for the Toronto Blue Jays, and was rewarded with approximately $250,000 extra in advance of the holidays.

Brady Farkas

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Pedro Pages (43) steals second base against Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Ernie Clement (28) during the 8th inning at Rogers Centre on Sept 13.
St. Louis Cardinals catcher Pedro Pages (43) steals second base against Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Ernie Clement (28) during the 8th inning at Rogers Centre on Sept 13. / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
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The holiday shopping season just got a little easier for Toronto Blue Jays infielder Ernie Clement, who earned a $245,805 bonus this week as part of Major League Baseball's pre-arbitration bonus system.

Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals earned the most money in the system at just under $3.1 million. Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates was second after winning the National League Rookie of the Year.

The Associated Press put out the full list of earners here, and MLBTradeRumors did a great job explaining how it all works.

The most recent collective bargaining agreement introduced a $50MM pool that is divided among players who have yet to accrue enough service time to reach arbitration. (Each team commits around $1.67MM to that fund every season.) The goal was to help highly-performing young players get paid earlier in their careers. Players are eligible even if they’ve signed a contract extension, as Witt did before the season

Clement was a finalist for the Gold Glove Award at third base alongside Alex Bregman (Houston Astros) and Jose Ramirez (Cleveland Guardians).

The 28-year-old Clement just completed his first full season with the Blue Jays, playing in 139 total games. A four-year veteran, he's also played with the Guardians and Oakland Athletics.

A versatile player, Clement appeared in 96 games at third base for Toronto (72 starts) while also playing 41 at shortstop, four at second base and one in the outfield. He also pitched once this year as well.

He hit .263 with 12 homers and 51 RBI. He also stole 12 bases.

The Blue Jays finished last in the American League East at 74-88 after making the playoffs in both 2022 and 2023.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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