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TORONTO — It’s hard to quantify what veteran leadership and playoff experience will mean to a young, emerging team like the Toronto Blue Jays.

It’s also hard to figure out what type of production Marcus Semien will bring in 2021.

But despite all of the uncertainty surrounding the Jays’ new second baseman, signed to a one-year, $18-million prove-it deal that will allow him to test free agency once again a year from now, the potential upside is huge.

That’s the allure.

If it works, the 30-year-old could be a dynamic power/speed force near the top of a loaded Jays lineup, just like he was in 2019 when he finished third in American League MVP voting with the Oakland A’s.

It it doesn’t, Semien could look similar to the player he’s been in his seven other big-league seasons — a below average bat with some speed and defensive versatility.

A valuable player still? Sure.

But not worth the price and not the player the Jays were hoping for.

Time will tell. There’s a good chance he rebounds and the motivation is certainly there.

Semien knows he has something to prove and a lucrative multi-year contract will await in free agency if he can come anywhere close to replicating his career year, a 7.6 fWAR season that saw the San Francisco native hit 33 homers, steal 10 bases and post a 138 Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+).

That last stat is telling because 100 is a league average offensive player, and 2019 is still the only year Semien has crossed that threshold.

There’s no doubt the Jays are getting a versatile and useful player in the athletic right-handed hitter, one who’s also revered for his clubhouse presence and generally known as one of the “good guys” in the game.

Well-spoken, wise, and a person who has been heavily involved in both the MLBPA as well as speaking up last year on race relations, Semien is a great addition in many ways.

But there’s also no doubt the Jays front office is crossing their fingers, hoping to strike gold and get a star. For one season, at least.

Semien is very aware of his situation, what’s expected of him, and how it could benefit both the Jays and himself down the road.

It wasn’t an instant match, but Semien didn’t generate the interest he had hoped on the free agent market coming off a down year.

“You know, I didn’t know what to expect,” Semien said Tuesday on a Zoom call. “A lot of us players and I’m sure a lot of agents just were wondering how they would evaluate a 60-game season. For me, I was hoping they’d look at the entire body of work, my last full season and how I finished in the 60-game season. But we didn’t really know what to ask for even. We were just trying to figure it out as it went along.

“Our idea of what kind of contract we may be able to get shifted a little bit, and I started to think maybe a one-year deal is better because we can try and get a full season under my belt and put up just a better season,” he added. “Sixty games is just kind of hard to evaluate and I thought, ‘Let’s try this again.’”

Semien said the Jays were one of the first teams to call when free agency began back in November, and then they circled back in January.

Born and raised in the Bay Area, Semien wanted to stay in Oakland.

The interest wasn’t mutual.

“The negotiations just didn’t go the way we thought, and that’s fine,” Semien said. “Shortly after that, like I said, Toronto kept calling and calling. I knew it was a position switch but I started thinking day after day, ‘This could be something really special’ and we worked it out fairly quick and I’m really happy with the decision. I like the fact they’re still working on some things, trying to add some pieces.”

While moving off shortstop — the most important position on the diamond — to the keystone is shifting down the positional value spectrum, Semien could set himself up to be seen as far and away the best second base option next winter.

Currently that class is led by Starlin Castro, while the shortstop market is loaded with stars. 

Versatility is now in high demand across the game, too, so Semien is now committed to mastering a position he hasn’t dabbled at since way back in 2014 with the Chicago White Sox, the club that drafted him in the sixth round in 2011.

“As for switching positions, during our Zoom call with Toronto they asked me, ‘What position do you like if it’s not shortstop?’ And I said, ‘I like shortstop,’” Semien grinned. “And then I said, ‘But if I have to pick, I think second. Just staying in the middle. But I’m open to anything.’”

Semien will form an athletic double-play duo with Bo Bichette, but the veteran’s ability to handle third base as well as shift back to his six-spot will be a huge asset.

If he’s hitting like 2019, it becomes even more valuable.

That leadership presence, while hard to quantify, also seems like a perfect fit for this Blue Jays team and where they’re trying to get to.

Over the course of nine career playoff games — four series over the last three years with the A’s — Semien has slashed .371/.450/.571 with a pair of homers.

But it could be the long 162-game grind where his presence pays off.

“When I was coming up as a young player, we had guys like Matt Joyce,” Semien said when asked about leadership. “He was a veteran who kept the guys together and kind of showed everybody how to be a professional and how to stay at the big league level for a long time. A lot of guys, when you first get there, you’re like, ‘OK, I’m here. I’ve accomplished my lifelong goal of being a big leaguer.’ And then you’re like, ‘Oh, wait. We have to play 162 games against the highest competition in the world and things, sometimes, can spiral a little bit.’ What Matt did for us was he kept the guys loose. 

“Sometimes players are a little tight and nervous because it’s where you’ve wanted to be your whole life and sometimes it doesn’t go your way and you need to keep it a little more relaxed just to get through that time. That’s something I’ll be able to share with them, along with just the playoff experience the last three years and how to get over the hump.”​