Andres Gimenez was not in Toronto’s starting lineup Sunday against the Guardians and began the game on the bench.
That move came after Gimenez had started the Blue Jays’ previous four contests and produced a 6-for-16 stretch with three doubles and four RBI during those games.
The numbers are the clearest measure of recent form: six hits in 16 at-bats, three of them doubles, and four runs batted in across four starts.
Context to the decision is simple and immediate: Gimenez had been in the lineup for four straight games before Sunday, but Toronto altered its infield alignment for the matchup against the Guardians.
Those alignment changes were concrete. Ernie Clement slid over to start at shortstop, and Davis Schneider took the start at second base for Toronto on Sunday, a configuration that left Gimenez off the field at the initial bell.
The tension is obvious in the facts: a player who had started four consecutive contests and produced measurable offensive output — three doubles and four RBI in 6-for-16 hitting — was nonetheless omitted from the starting nine for Sunday’s game while teammates Clement and Schneider were inserted into the middle infield.
The most consequential question now is whether Toronto will return Gimenez to the starting lineup after the infield adjustment that moved Ernie Clement to shortstop and started Davis Schneider at second, or whether Sunday’s alignment marks a longer-term change.
