Leo Jimenez proved he could take over as the Blue Jays' long-term shortstop in 2024

Bo Bichette's struggles in 2024 are a serious concern to the Toronto Blue Jays moving forward. With only one year left on his contract, there is a strong possibility that he becomes a free agent, instead of getting extended by the Blue Jays. Additionally, he has also been shopped on the trade market and is a possible trade candidate.

One player that is making that decision easier is Leo Jimenez, a 23-year-old shortstop who impressed in his rookie season. While Bichette struggled and was placed on the injured list three seperate times, Jimenez took the opportunity and started to prove to the front office that he could be the long term answer at shortstop.

Now a fully healthy Bichette has been impressive, posting a wRC+ over 120 and an OPS over .800 for five consecutive seasons prior to 2024, but last season was a major red flag. Jimenez is quickly emerging and could be the answer at shorstop if Bichette does not earn a resign next offseason.

Leo Jimenez proved to the Blue Jays he could be the answer at shortstop

In 63 games with Toronto, Jimenez batted .229 with four home runs, driving in 31. Additionally, he hit 11 doubles, along with a wRC+ of 102. His OPS sat at .686, coming from an on-base percentage of .329 and a slugging percentage of .358. His stats weren't league shattering, but having a wRC+ over the league average of 100 is impressive in his rookie season.

His statcast metrics are not great, but if he had enough at bats, he would have ranked amongst the best in baseball with his launch angle sweet spot percentage of 40.7%.

His Triple-A numbers from 2024 are another positive to proving what he is capable of bringing to Toronto. He had an OPS of .847 with seven home runs and a wRC+ of 131. His batting average sat at .271 he had an impressive walk rate of 13.3% and a strikeout percentage of just 15%.

2025 will be an interesting season for Jimenez as he will try to prove to the Toronto front office that he is capable of being the teams long term option at shortstop. Jimenez gave a good first impression and could be the future for the Blue Jays at shortstop.