Making a case for Blue Jays’ Brett Lawrie at second base

The Toronto Blue Jays will soon get a boost to their lineup with Brett Lawrie returning from his sprained ankle, but the big question is where he might play when he returns. Right now, while manager John Gibbons won’t come right out and say it, you can bet Lawrie will be trading in his third baseman’s glove for a second base mitt.

Sure, Lawrie has proved he can handle the hot corner with good range and an excellent arm. Just don’t forget he started his career as a second baseman with the Brewers and was only moved to third because Toronto desperately needed somebody to secure that corner of the diamond.

Now, they have options over there. Maicer Izturis is a quality defender who can handle most of the starts at third and Mark DeRosa has a ton of experience to fill in over there as needed too. Same thing with Edwin Encarnacion and even Jose Bautista. The Blue Jays can pick and choose who fits best on a game-by-game basis depending on pitching matchups and in-game situations. Plus, there’s always a possibility the Jays are looking to make a deal to bring in another established third baseman before the deadline, though that seems to be on the backburner.

“We’re not looking at it because something’s imminent, [because Alex Anthopoulos] might acquire some guy, that type of thing,” Gibbons told reporters. “We’ve been thinking about this for a few months.”

Lawrie has been working on his game at second at Triple-A Buffalo and it seems like he’ll be back in the bigs sooner rather than later. “Loved playin some 2 bag last night, feel comfortable every time out there, brings me back to my first 2 seasons over there #Deuces,” Lawrie tweeted Wednesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, as Lawrie gets comfortable at second, it’s hard not to imagine him turning double plays with shortstop Jose Reyes. That’s where this really gets juicy. Between those two players, not many ground balls will get through the middle and it should also give the Jays and offensive boost at second. Right now they rank last in the bigs in on-base percentage among second baggers, and second last in batting average.

Considering the Jays head into Thursday’s game against the Cleveland Indians in last place in the AL East with the All-Star break looming, you can bet he’ll be back in Toronto manning second base when the second half begins. After beginning the year with the shortest odds to win the World Series, the Jays need a big spark. Maybe this move will get them heading in the right direction.