The Toronto Blue Jays may have found their next leadoff hitter.
Amidst a scorching-hot start to the spring, shortstop Bo Bichette — who went 3-for-4 with three hard-hit singles and a run batted in Thursday against the Boston Red Sox — said he’s intrigued by the idea of taking over primary duties in the leadoff spot this season. For his career, the 27-year-old has only made nine starts in the No. 1 hole since debuting in 2019.
George Springer has been the main reason for that, as the veteran outfielder has primarily hit leadoff since signing with Toronto ahead of the 2021 season. But his role is expected to change in ’25 after the club finished 27th in wRC+ (87) and 28th in SLG (.352) in production from the leadoff spot last season.
The Blue Jays have yet to announce who’ll serve as their primary leadoff hitter this season, but Bichette — a pending free agent — has earned most of his reps from that position in the order this spring and will likely factor heavily into the coaching staff’s decision.
While Bichette is open to playing in “whatever spot” the team needs him to, he’s also expressed his desire and comfortability with leading off games in his discussions with manager John Schneider.
“Yeah, it does excite me,” Bichette told reporters, including Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, following Thursday’s 7-4 victory over Boston. “I’ve spent some time there and always enjoyed my time there. I take it as a challenge to kind of set the tone for the team, and I like challenges, so hopefully, I get that opportunity.”
Of the options Toronto has to choose from, Bichette is likely the clear-cut best option to hit leadoff moving forward. He doesn’t earn many free passes. Nor does he strike out at a high clip. But he’s been a reliable on-base threat because of his elite-level hit tool.
That didn’t show up during a miserable 2024 season for the two-time All-Star, who missed half a season due to a nagging calf injury and a fractured middle finger. Two seasons ago, however, he posted a career-high .363 xwOBA that ranked in the 87th percentile of the majors and was 11th-highest among qualified American League hitters — with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.378) being one of the 10 who finished above him.
Schneider has been non-committal in his responses when asked about where he envisions having Bichette hit in ’25. But he figures to be among the candidates who’ll hit first, a group that’ll also likely include Springer, Will Wagner and Andrés Giménez.
“I think Bo’s taken to hitting, which is really, really refreshing for us,” Schneider said. “He’s done that before we acquired George. He’s comfortable doing it. He’s comfortable anywhere. I just want him to continue to swing the bat. The way he’s swinging, it’s going to be such a breath of fresh air for our lineup. And not really having him last year or what he was expecting out of himself. So wherever he is, I got all the confidence in the world in him.”
Chances are the configuration of the Blue Jays’ lineup will remain fluid throughout this season, especially considering Schneider deployed 152 different batting orders in ’24, as Nicholson-Smith noted. So, the starting nine he sends out on Opening Day versus the Baltimore Orioles could drastically alter from game to game based on matchups.
And wherever Bichette hits, having the right-handed-hitting shortstop deliver a resurgent performance will be crucial to the success of this team’s offence.
Luckily, few players across the sport have looked more in mid-season form early on than Bichette, who’s hitting .364 with two doubles, a home run and a pair of RBIs across eight Grapefruit League games this spring.