John Schneider explained exactly why he won't drop Vladimir Guerrero Jr. down in the order.
"I don't want to punish him," Schneider said, per Keegan Matheson.
That's a direct answer to a question that's been circling this team for weeks.
Schneider didn't stop there. He acknowledged the lack of other options making this decision easier to defend.
"I think if there were guys tearing the cover off the ball, that would be a little easier to think about too," he said.
That's a blunt admission about where the rest of this lineup actually stands right now.
He went further into the reasoning behind the whole approach. "We are built, as a team, for Vlad to be a focal point of our offense."
Why moving him wouldn't actually change much
Schneider also pushed back on the idea that a lineup shift would ease the pressure on Guerrero in any real way.
"I don't think that, with where he hits, he will be pitched very differently," Schneider said. "I don't think there will be more or less pressure if he's hitting down in the order."
That's a fair point on paper. Pitchers already know Guerrero's tendencies regardless of where he bats, and opposing scouting reports don't change based on lineup order alone.
"I want him up in important," Schneider added, trailing off on a thought that's clearly been on his mind for a while now.
The subtext is obvious. Schneider still believes in the player Guerrero has been over his career, even during the worst offensive stretch of it.
Toronto's lineup construction depends heavily on Guerrero being a run producer in the middle of the order, not just a name on the roster.
Whether that faith pays off before the season ends, or Schneider eventually has to reconsider given how bad things have gotten, is the tension hanging over every game left on the schedule.
Do you agree with John Schneider's decision to keep Vladimir Guerrero Jr. high in the batting order?
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