Article: The Blue Jays Have a New Shortstop

[Leo Morgenstern]

Stats in article updated prior to games on September 18.

Blue Jays fans received both good and bad news about Bo Bichette earlier this week, neatly rolled into one brief injury update. 

Let’s start with the good news: His knee sprain isn’t particularly serious. The only treatment he needs is rest and rehab. Now for the bad news: Bichette will miss the rest of the regular season. His availability for the ALDS is up in the air. 

There’s no easy way to replace Bichette’s bat. He hasn’t played in almost two weeks, and he still leads the majors in hits. He’s also the team leader in doubles, extra-base hits, and RBI. The offense will be worse off without him, no two ways about it. 

Defensively, however, the Blue Jays will be just fine. 

Initially, the team told reporters that Ernie Clement would take over as the primary shortstop. That’s where he played in each of the first four games Bichette missed. Then, last Friday, the Blue Jays had a new shortstop. Andrés Giménez, a three-time Gold Glove winner at second base, made his first start for the Blue Jays on the left side of the infield. He has started there in five of six games since.

Only three days before his shortstop debut, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith had reported that Giménez was “expected to remain at second base,” at least for the time being. Talk about a quick 180. 

I doubt the Blue Jays really changed their mind about Giménez that quickly. Instead, I presume it was always the plan for him to take over at shortstop, but he wanted some time to prepare to field a position he hadn’t played in more than three years, and the team wanted some time to talk to him about the change before the news became official. 

After all, Clement is most valuable as a utility player. And while Clement's defense is strong, Giménez is one of the best defensive players in the game. He’s earned that reputation at second base, not shortstop, but he does have 89 games (687.1 innings) of MLB experience at short, with 8 DRS (Defensive Runs Saved) and 10 OAA (Outs Above Average) to show for his efforts. Those numbers are quite similar to his numbers at second base this year (87 games, 10 DRS, 10 OAA). If Giménez can provide similar defensive value at either spot, conventional wisdom suggests he’d be better used at shortstop, the more difficult and more valuable position.

So far, Giménez is settling into his new role nicely. The sample is tiny, but he’s 29-for-29 in defensive chances, and he’s already made one highlight reel play:

Most of the other plays he’s made look perfectly routine, though it’s important to keep in mind that the best fielders can make tricky plays look easy. Consider this one. Watch closely and you’ll see the ball bounce off the mound, completely changing its direction. Yet, by the time the camera shifts to Giménez, it looks like he’s fielding any old routine groundball.

None of this is to say he won’t have issues to work through. Look no further than this terrific diving stop and subsequent terrible throw. Perhaps that’s a throw he could have made from second base, but as a shortstop, he should have held on to the ball.

Still, the fact that Giménez has taken over at shortstop (and already looks quite comfortable) is a pretty big deal. Not only is it helping the Blue Jays to field their best possible team in Bichette’s absence right now, but it could help them field their best possible team in Bichette’s absence for years to come.

I would hope, and I would presume, that the Jays will make a serious effort to re-sign Bichette, an impending free agent, in the offseason. However, if they can’t bring him back, it’s worth wondering if Giménez will take over at shortstop full-time. It’s hard not to view his work at shortstop this season as an audition of sorts. 

It’s also worth wondering if Giménez should be Toronto’s shortstop of the future even if Bichette returns. Bichette regularly grades out as a poor defender at shortstop, with -19 DRS and -31 OAA in his career. Maybe he wouldn’t be quite as much of a liability at second base. 

Of course, getting to stay at shortstop might be a sticking point for Bichette in contract negotiations. The Blue Jays might have to promise him the role, at least for 2026, to convince him to stay. 

Still, the better Giménez plays at shortstop over the next little while, the more leverage the Blue Jays will have in their negotiations with Bichette. And who knows, if Giménez handles the position well enough, perhaps he can convince Bichette that his sticking at short is what’s best for everyone.

All this to say, Andrés Giménez is more than just a stopgap at shortstop. Every game he plays at the position in the coming days (and possibly deep into October) will be worth watching closely.

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