Brighton High School graduate and Toronto Blue Jays utilityman Ernie Clement will be getting a pay increase.
Clement, coming off a historic postseason where he set a new playoff record for total hits, was one of several Blue Jays to sign new contracts to avoid arbitration ahead of last Thursday’s deadline.
The 29-year-old graduate of the University of Virginia will make $4.6 million in 2026, a big increase from his $1.97 million salary in 2025. Had he not signed a deal, his pay next season would have been determined in arbitration, where it could have been higher or lower depending on the decision. ‘
Clement’s new contract came after a career year and a historic postseason that saw him set baseball’s single-postseason hit record, with 30, as part of a Blue Jays run that came just one win short of a World Series title. During the regular season, he finished with career-highs in most offensive categories in his career-high 157 games played, including hits (151), runs scored (83), doubles (35), batting average (.277), on-base-percentage (.313), and on-base-plus-slugging (.711). He also continued to be a defensive star, playing all over the field while leading the American League in Defensive Wins Above Replacement (measuring how much better a player is than a likely replacement player) with 2.9 and in the Range Factor/9 metric (a statistic meant to measure the defensive ability of a player by dividing putouts and assists by the number of innings played) at third base at 2.84, according to Baseball Reference. He was nominated for two Gold Gloves – his second straight season with a nomination – at third base and utility. However, he fell short to Kansas City’s Maikel Garcia and Houston’s Mauricio Dubon, respectively.
After the season, Clement returned to Rochester for a Small Business Saturday event at Innovative Field, where he signed autographs for more than 1,100 fans and received honors from local dignitaries.
Clement and the other Blue Jays begin their new season on Friday, March 27.
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