Blue Jays would love for this infielder to be more consistent with his power in 2026

Though Ernie Clement is the one being positioned as the replacement for Bo Bichette in the starting lineup — and Kazuma Okamoto's arrival literally fills his vacated spot in the infield — it's Andrés Giménez who will be manning shortstop for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2026.

Bo Bichette was never exactly a savant with the glove, but he did stubbornly refuse to move off shortstop until the Blue Jays found themselves in the World Series last year. Then, he accepted a slide over to the other side of the second base bag (partly fueled by a lingering knee injury), and Giménez delivered a promising proof of concept during the Fall Classic.

Now, 27-year-old middle infielder is going to try and add a fourth Gold Glove to his trophy cabinet, having collected three straight at the keystone with the Guardians from 2022-24. Even if he doesn't earn such a prestigious honor, Blue Jays fans know he can handle his new position, he's accrued +8 Outs Above Average and +6 Defensive Runs Saved at short throughout his career.

The real question is if Giménez can evolve at the plate.

Andrés Giménez's development as a hitter will define Blue Jays' Bo Bichette replacement plan

Thanks to the aforementioned presence of Clement and Okamoto, Giménez won't need to produce a Bichette-ian batting average or 120 wRC+ to keep Toronto afloat in 2026. That just isn't his game.

What would really help is if he can rediscover his power stroke. Though he'll probably never come close to replicating his 2022 breakout season — he hit .297/.371/.466 (141 wRC+) with 17 home runs — Giménez can still provide net-positive contributions from the bottom of the lineup. Even as his bat slipped to below-average territory in 2023, he managed to hit 15 home runs (while stealing 30 bases). Combined with his sterling defensive efforts, that earned him 3.8 fWAR for that campaign.

In a positive spin, Giménez did show off some opposite-field power in spring training, slicing a homer to left-center against the Miami Marlins.

That alone was a notable feat — Giménez hasn't hit an opposite-field home run in the regular season since 2022. He's been so dependent on pull-side power to generate extra-base hits, which is a problem for a player who ranked in the 13th percentile in bat speed last year.

Perhaps with a better all-fields approach, or a more concentrated focus on pulling the ball in the air, Giménez can return to being a perennial 15-homer threat. It's unfair to ask him to replace all of what made Bichette so great, but bridging the gap in terms of power would go a long way toward patching up some holes in the Blue Jays' lineup.