Should the Blue Jays consider moving Bo Bichette from shortstop?

Drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2016, there is no question that Bo Bichette is one of the key pieces of the organization’s future and one of the top players on the current roster.

At just 23 years old, Bichette has already crafted a .301/.340/.540 slash line with 18 home runs, 46 RBI, and a .879 OPS in just 83 games (stats are prior to Saturday’s game). While he has succeeded when in the batter’s box, defensively, the Florida native has never played anywhere else but shortstop (not including the designated hitter) and currently sports a .957% fielding percentage with 13 errors and 1 defensive runs saved (DRS). The 2021 season has been rough for Bichette so far, as he already has three errors just two weeks in and hasn’t looked all that comfortable defensively.

Considering he is one of the cornerstone players on the Blue Jays roster, there is no question that Bichette is going to be a staple on the team moving forward, however, one does have to question if shortstop is the position he should be playing when the Blue Jays take the field.

Now, I understand that it is obviously early in his career and it may be a bit early to start sounding the alarm bells about moving him from the left side of the diamond. The reason this question has to be asked is that he just hasn’t looked very confident at shortstop so far this season and if the Jays truly want to make the playoffs this year, they may have to consider a position change for their star player sooner rather than later if he can’t turn things around.

There is no arguing that Bichette has fantastic athletic ability and is able to get to the ball on most occasions but he doesn’t have the strongest arm and there have been a few close plays where a quicker throw might have gotten the out at first. He’s also had a few balls hit to him where he’s either bobbled the throw or just hasn’t had the cleanest transition from fielding the ball to throwing to first, which appears to be more mental at this point compared to his overall defensive ability. One could argue that the season is early and some more games under his belt could change the narrative but he currently accounts for 75% of the Jays errors so far this season and the team needs every win they can get if they want to reach the playoffs in a tough A.L. East division.

Don’t get me wrong, shortstop is probably one of the most difficult positions in the game and there are not many players out there who can handle it on a regular basis. One just has to look at the future and think that maybe Bichette is better suited for second base rather than at shortstop given his athletic ability and arm strength.

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Roster-wise, Marcus Semien could take over at shortstop for the season, basically flipping the position with Bichette to keep the duo together. Semien has 776 games at shortstop over nine seasons and while he boasts a 3 DRS at the position, he does have considerable experience when compared to his counterpart. It should also be noted that this off-season there are quite a few quality shortstops who are heading to free agency such as Javier Baez, Trevor Story, Corey Seager, and Marcus Semien, all of whom provide considerable upside defensively if they were to join the Blue Jays. While it is no guarantee that Ross Atkins and co. will target or sign one of these players next Winter, moving Bichette to second would allow the team to pursue one of these players, all of whom would improve the team immensely both in the batting order and defensively on the field.

I know the conversation is obviously early and there is always the possibility that Bichette could turn it around defensively, but if the struggles continue, a potential position change is something that Charlie Montoyo and the Blue Jays might want to consider having if they are trying to play October baseball.

Do you see Bo Bichette as the Toronto Blue Jays long-term shortstop, or should they consider moving him to second base for the foreseeable future?