Depth Check: The Blue Jays at the Middle Infield Spots in 2026

Last month, Jesse Burrill looked at the Blue Jays’ depth on the corners. Today, I’ll be looking at the middle infield options throughout the organization. In 2025, 10 different Blue Jays took a turn at either second or short, with half of them spending time on both sides of the keystone. As much fun as Myles Straw’s turn at second base was, I don’t think he’s in consideration for playing time there this season. Similarly, Will Wagner and Buddy Kennedy’s one start each at second would have them out of contention, even if they weren’t already off the team. Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Michael Stefanic both made it to double-digits up the middle, but they have elected free agency and are unlikely to be back. So, let’s start with a look at the remaining five players who have been there before.

Andrés Giménez — fWAR: 1.0, wRC+: 70, Fielding Run Value: +6
The lock. The Jays traded for Giménez last year, and he is under contract through the 2029 season. He’s not going anywhere. The Platinum Glover missed time due to injury in 2025, which likely cost him another defensive award, but on the defensive side of the ball, he was exactly as advertised. There was hope (especially when he hit the first Jays home run of the 2025 season) that his bat would show some improvement, but instead he set career low marks for average (.210), SLG (.313), OPS (.598) and wRC+ (70). This feels like a bit of a repeat from heading into last season, but we all know the glove plays, and we just hope the bat is closer to league average. The real question now is which side he’ll play on. After playing the majority of his time at second base, he shifted to shortstop to close out the regular season and spent the entire playoff run at short. He didn’t look at all out of place, despite not having played a major league inning at shortstop since 2022. Like many Blue Jays, Giménez’s positional flexibility will allow the front office and management to get creative when filling out the roster.

Bo Bichette — fWAR: 3.8, wRC+: 134, Fielding Run Value: -10
The big question mark. Technically a free agent, I think most would agree it’s fair to be discussing Bichette here. In a lot of ways, Bichette is the perfect ‘buddy cop/odd couple’ pairing with Giménez. One no bat/all glove and the other a liability in the field, but can flat out hit. Bichette played in 139 games last year (his most since ‘22) and set a career-high mark for doubles (44) and average (.311). That BA was second in the league, behind only Aaron Judge. Bichette’s 181 hits were second only to Bobby Witt Jr. He received some down-ballot votes for AL MVP and hit one of the most memorable home runs of the 2025 playoffs with his World Series Game 7 blast. He is absolutely going to get paid this offseason. The first question is: by who? Bryan Jaeger recently looked at Toronto’s payroll flexibility, and while there is no question that Rogers can afford to bring back Bichette, there will be other suitors. The second question is: where would he play? Injury forced him to second base (and DH) for his World Series return to the lineup, but there is desire from the fanbase to make that move permanent. My preferred middle infield for 2026 has Giménez at short with Bo at second, so the last question might become the most important one: how much of Bichette’s contract negotiations will have to do with where he’s going to play?

Ernie Clement — fWAR: 3.2, wRC+: 98, Fielding Run Value: +5 (+10 overall)
The ErnDog played more defensive innings than any Blue Jay last season. 593 of those innings were up the middle. If Bichette goes elsewhere, Clement is potentially the first option to fill the spot internally. A trio of great baseball minds agree — to varying degrees (hi, Leo, Jesse and Jim!). Clement’s bat obviously doesn’t come close to Bichette’s, but if that spot is taken care of, then the offense can be backfilled elsewhere on the roster (in theory) with an external addition or the return to form of Anthony Santander. If Bichette returns, Clement can still fill the infield utility role he held in 2025, moving through the positions as teammates need time off or as the lineup is optimized for each opposing pitcher. 

Davis Schneider — fWAR: 1.3, wRC+: 127, Fielding Run Value: 0 (-2 overall)
Schneider had a bounce-back season at the plate, which, in the early weeks, didn’t look to be on the horizon. He broke spring training with the big league club and then proceeded to go 0’fer in his first nine games before getting a hit in his 10th match to raise his average to .067. That long-awaited hit wasn’t enough to stop a mid-April demotion. He came back up in June, and while he didn’t set the world on fire, he played capably at multiple positions and ended the year with improved stats across the board. I don’t think Schneider is anyone’s first choice to fill a middle infield spot (again, in a Bo-less future) with any kind of length, but he’s solid enough that he can be called on in a pinch, and like much of the roster, that flexibility provides additional value.

Leo Jiménez — fWAR: -0.3, wRC+: -19, Fielding Run Value: +1
Jiménez appeared in only 44 games across all levels in 2025 (18 in the majors). Limited by hamstring issues and a nasty bout of mono, he did not take the step forward that many in the organization were likely hoping for. He went 2-for-29 (one homer) with the MLB club during his July call-up. He’s another glove-first player, but even at that, he’ll need to hit better than .069 if he hopes to stick in his next shot. It’s worth noting that in 2024, he hit .229 over 63 games and 179 ABs. Over two seasons in the majors, he has played 36 games at second base and 44 at shortstop and could be another flex piece depending on how the roster shakes out (and what his bat does in 2026).

The Pipeline
There are players in the Blue Jays’ system that may one day see time at the major league level, but at this point in the offseason, it would come as a shock if any of these were impact names in 2026. Where applicable, I will be using FanGraphs’ projected ETA to the majors from their most recent prospect list, and Jays Centre’s top prospect list for each player’s ranking within the organization.

• JoJo Parker: 2025 first-round pick, #2 prospect, ETA 2030
• Arjun Nimmala: 2023 first-round pick, #3 prospect, ETA 2028
• Juan Sanchez: 2024 amateur signing, #10 prospect, ETA 2031
• Josh Kasevich: 2022 second-round pick, #11 prospect, ETA 2027
• Charles McAdoo: 2023 13th-round pick, acquired via trade, #14 prospect, ETA 2027 

It is always a balancing act with prospects between the potential future and the win-now window the Blue Jays are certainly in. While it would be interesting to consider a 2029 middle infield of McAdoo and Nimmala, the likelihood of any of the guys on that list switching positions (or organizations) before making their MLB debuts is not outside the realm of possibility. Addison Barger came up through the minors starting out as a middle infielder before settling into the 3B/RF role he occupies now. All of this to say, hold your prospects lightly.