Blue Jays Video
Speaking to the Toronto Star's Mike Wilner, manager John Schneider divulged that the Blue Jays never had any intention of re-signing Bo Bichette to play shortstop. This new information conflicts with the front office's public messaging while Bichette was still a free agent.
A week after the World Series ended, The Athletic's Mitch Bannon wrote: "The Jays, [GM Ross] Atkins said, are comfortable with [Andrés] Giménez as their long-term shortstop, if needed...If Bichette is set on a return to shortstop, though, the Jays are open to that configuration, too."
Yet, per Schneider's latest comments, the team didn't take long to inform Giménez that he would not be returning to second base. “We communicated that to him in November so he could get physically ready for it,” the skipper explained.
It's not surprising that the Jays wanted Giménez to be their shortstop, whether they re-signed Bichette or not. Giménez has been the best defensive second baseman in MLB for the past four seasons, and he proved last fall that he could handle the transition to short. Bichette, meanwhile, was arguably the worst defensive shortstop in the league last year, and he ended up signing with the Mets to play third base.
Still, it's interesting to learn that Giménez's full-time move to shortstop was always the plan. Bichette's bat will be missed, but there's no doubt that Toronto's up-the-middle alignment of Giménez, Ernie Clement, Alejandro Kirk, and Daulton Varsho (plus Tyler Heineman and Myles Straw on the bench) will be one of the team's biggest strengths in 2026.






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