The Toronto Blue Jays have taken a risk in the World Series.
They’re playing Bo Bichette at second base.
Bichette started there in Game 1, then after pinch-hitting in Game 2 got to trot out to that spot, as well.
He’s back in the starting lineup for Game 3, which is mostly about getting his bat back in there after he was out since Sept. 6 with a left knee sprain.
Bichette hadn’t played second base since doing so in a single game in Triple-A in 2019. He’s a shortstop.
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The Blue Jays made it to the World Series without Bichette, though, so they’ve kept the left side of the infield intact with Andres Gimenez at short and Ernie Clement at third base.
That left second base as the spot that Bichette could slide into in place of Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
There’s really just one risk.
Sure, Bichette likely has to make less difficult plays most of the time as a second baseman. But his injury comes into major focus in one spot: turning double plays.
Picture a second baseman waiting for the throw from either shortstop or third base when covering as the pivot man at the bag before trying to wheel to throw to first for two outs on a groundball.
That left leg, the one which has a knee sprain for Bichette, is just waiting there right in front of the oncoming, potentially sliding runner.
In the old days, that runner could do a takeout slide and really crush the infielder. That’s not allowed anymore, although contact can still occur on a bang-bang play.
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It’s just a tricky position for Bichette to find himself in.
The picture at the top of this article is Bichette on the turn during Game 1, and he pulls his injured leg well to the outside as he throws to try and stay out of the way. That could cause throwing accuracy issues.
In the end, it’s not ideal. The Blue Jays are taking a risk, and they’ll just have to hope on a double play ground ball, or any other play, Bichette doesn’t get hurt.
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