Will Giménez take Bichette’s shortstop spot with Toronto Blue Jays?

While the Toronto Blue Jays haven’t had the splashiest offseason possible, they’ve definitely done a pretty good job keeping their names in the headlines throughout the winter months.

Their biggest move so far came earlier this month, when they acquired second baseman Andres Giménez and pitcher Nick Sandlin in exchange for infielder Spencer Horwitz.

After a few down years at the plate, the 26-year-old Venezuelan is hoping to grow the offensive side of his game, possibly back to the 2022 levels that saw him finish sixth in American League MVP voting. But for a franchise looking to return to the postseason, it’s team performance above everything.

“For me, my main goal is just to be healthy through the season. It doesn’t matter what my numbers are,” Giménez said to reporters through an interpreter on Wednesday, via Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi. “I just try to be very, very consistent on everything — the entire game. Hitting, running, stealing bases, defence. Trying to be consistent and trying to bring my game to help my team win every game possible.”

Having played just nine games of his MLB career at the Rogers Centre, there’s bound to be a bit of an adjustment period to his new ballpark, but Giménez seems poised to make an immediate impact.

“I’ve always looked forward to facing the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays have always had a great deal of young talent,” Giménez added. “I see the team as very good right now. And I know we can get better. Especially because of the youth that we have on the team. It’s a great combination with people that have already played in the league for five, six years. We can hit, we can run, and obviously, we can play defence. So, if we work together and make some adjustments, I think we can be very successful.”

But the big question is — will Giménez stick at second base in Toronto, or is he an eventual replacement for Bo Bichette at shortstop?

Giménez, a 2022 All-Star and three-time Gold Glover, was almost immediately branded as a defence-first acquisition, akin to that of the trade the Jays made for Daulton Varsho ahead of the 2023 season.

In an interview with Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae, Blue Jays manager John Schneider called him “probably the best defender in baseball in the infield position.”

And with Bichette possibly set to be a free agent come 2025, it’s not hard to draw the lines to Giménez one day replacing him — perhaps as soon as next season. With shortstop being such a premium defensive position in baseball, having the manager’s approval already could signal the possible shift to a new position.

In Toronto, the shortstop role has been synonymous with Bichette since his 2019 major league debut, as he’s suited up for all 584 of his career games in that spot.

Giménez, meanwhile, has played just 83 of his 564 career MLB games at short, while also playing 10 at third base and the rest at second.

Especially for a player who’s going into the third year of a seven-year, $107.5 million contract extension, Giménez has the security that he’ll likely have a spot in the lineup every day for the foreseeable future.

Bichette, a two-time All-Star himself, will also be an everyday starter when he’s healthy, and the easiest thing for Schneider to do right now would be to keep the two players in the positions they’re most comfortable in.

But if Bichette does depart in free agency — or if it seems like he’s getting there — perhaps it’s only a matter of time until Giménez slides over to the other side of the infield.

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