What Isiah Kiner-Falefa's 2025 Tells Us About Davis Schneider's 2026

[Leo Morgenstern]

The Blue Jays like them some versatility. Ernie Clement makes highlight-reel plays all over the infield. He was arguably the best utility player in baseball last season. Addison Barger is the first player in MLB history to play at least 25 games at third base and right field in each of his first two years in the bigs. Even George Springer is hoping to contribute on defense in 2026. Given his age, injury history, and how well he swung the bat last year, no one would be mad if he were a full-time DH. But according to John Schneider, he's a legitimate option in the outfield too.

Then there's Andrés Giménez; the Jays acquired the Platinum Glove-winning second baseman because they knew he could also play a good shortstop. And after Toronto signed Kazuma Okamoto this winter, both Ross Atkins and Okamoto himself acknowledged he could take the field at multiple positions. According to Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith, the organization sees him as a capable third baseman and an above-average first baseman. He also has experience in the outfield. 

There's one more name I should have mentioned by now, and you might be surprised I haven't. Davis Schneider is one of only three active players to have appeared in at least 100 games at second base and in left field over the past three seasons. Funnily enough, the other two are both winners of the utility Gold Glove Award: Brendan Donovan and Mauricio Dubón. The defensive metrics will tell you Schneider has done just fine at each position, albeit in a small sample. He owns a -1 DRS and +1 FRV in 636.1 innings at the keystone and a -1 DRS and +1 FRV in 996.2 innings in left. 

In theory, all this versatility should allow John Schneider maximum creativity as he fills out his lineup card. The most frequent swap-outs will likely be the righty-batting Davis Schneider and Myles Straw replacing the lefty-batting Barger and Jesús Sánchez for the sake of platoon matchups. Sánchez has been unplayable against southpaws throughout his career. Barger has struggled against lefties too, though the Blue Jays haven't given him much of a chance to improve against same-handed pitching. 

On that note, I'd like to see Barger in the lineup more often against left-handed starters, at least early in the year. He deserves a chance to prove he's more than a platoon bat. I'm hopeful John Schneider is on the same page. When camp opened, the skipper suggested the everyday right field job was Barger's to lose.

Presuming Barger is starting regularly against lefties, the Jays only need one righty-batting outfielder to platoon with Sánchez. If Straw can be that guy, it would free up Schneider as an option at second base. In such a scenario, Clement would slide over to shortstop to give the lefty-batting Giménez a day off.

And in case that last paragraph was confusing, here's the lineup I'm proposing:

Position	Starter vs. LHP
C	Alejandro Kirk (R)
1B	Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (R)
2B	Davis Schneider (R)
SS	Ernie Clement (R)
3B	Kazuma Okamoto (R)
LF	Myles Straw (R)
CF	Daulton Varsho (L)
RF	Addison Barger (L)
DH	George Springer (R)

To be clear, I'm not suggesting this should be Toronto's go-to group against all left-handed pitchers. I'm just saying it's an option if the Jays want to maximize offense when they're facing a tough southpaw. This lineup includes every right-handed hitter on the team's projected 26-man roster, as well as Barger and Daulton Varsho. The only realistic alternative is to put Schneider in the outfield and keep Giménez at shortstop. The configuration with Giménez would be stronger defensively, but I think the version with Barger and Varsho would score more runs. Some days, offense is going to be the priority. 

Or... maybe not. 

See, I'm not sure how much time Davis Schneider is actually going to see at second base. RosterResource has him taking 161 of his 322 projected plate appearances at second. I think that's ambitious.

During the playoffs last year, when every game, every inning, every play mattered more, Schneider appeared in eight games. He started five, all in left field. Meanwhile, Isiah Kiner-Falefa took the field in 15 of Toronto's 18 contests. He played 91 defensive innings, exclusively at second base. Sometimes he came on as a defensive replacement, sometimes he was the one replaced. But by and large, he was the player John Schneider and the Blue Jays wanted in the infield (when it couldn't be Bo Bichette).

Kiner-Falefa had a 75 wRC+ in 2025. He has an 82 wRC+ for his career. Conversely, Schneider posted a 127 wRC+ last season, while his career mark is 109. Simply put, Schneider is a vastly superior hitter. There's no debate. According to FanGraphs, Kiner-Falefa has been worth 22.8 offensive runs below average over the last three years and 62.1 below average in his career. Schneider has produced 9.0 offensive runs above average since his debut in 2023.

Moreover, IKF gave the Blue Jays next to nothing at the dish throughout the playoffs. He went 6-for-37 (.162) with two doubles, one walk, and a 7 wRC+. That's 93% worse than league average.

My aim is not to denigrate Kiner-Falefa. Rather, I'm trying to point out that the Blue Jays watched all that and still decided they wanted to run out a lineup with Kiner-Falefa at second base instead of Schneider. They decided Kiner-Falefa's glove was that good (or Schneider's that bad) for the offensive trade-off to be worth it.

To be fair, sometimes Schneider was busy in left field while IKF was manning short, but there were plenty of moments the Jays stuck with Kiner-Falefa while Schneider was sitting on the bench. The Blue Jays played 18 postseason games. Kiner-Falefa and Schneider were only ever in the same starting lineup three times.

So, what does all this mean for 2026? Kiner-Falefa is in Boston now, but Toronto still has a pair of excellent defenders up the middle in Clement and Giménez. If the 2025 playoffs are any indication (and I don't see why they wouldn't be), John Schneider and the Blue Jays vastly prefer to have a great glove at second base, even if it means sacrificing some offense. The hypothetical, bat-first lineup I proposed as an option against tough left-handed starters might be just that – hypothetical. 

Davis Schneider couldn't steal a start from a slumping IKF in the playoffs, so I don't see many starts at second base in his future either. 

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