ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½

Then he was reshuffled in the batting lineup from leadoff to clean-up hitter.

Debatable which has been the most seismic recent event in the life of the career Blue Jays shortstop. But getting slotted into the No. 4 hole for a weekend series with the Los Angeles Angels has drawn the most puzzled and nonplussed reaction from birds on the wire. If not from Bichette himself.

“I’m open to seeing where we can get better, if that’s something that they think is better for the team,’’ Bichette told the Star during a dugout interview early Sunday morning — a few hours before he cranked a solo shot into the left-field second deck and scored the winning run in a 3-2 outcome that extended ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½â€™s win streak to eight games.

“My entire career I’ve moved around (the lineup). A big part of that is because I’m able to fit different roles. I think that this is an opportunity to put me in a run-producing role, which I’ve been good at this year.

“But I don’t think it’s because anything was lacking.’’

Meaning a bald hitting patch from the four-hole, which has mostly been the roost of all-star Alejandro Kirk, although a cluster of guys have rotated through with the entire roster skewed by the continuing injury absence of Anthony Santander.

“You want Bo up in those spots with a runner on second or bases loaded or whatever it is,’’ manager John Schneider was saying the other day. “More times than not, he’s going to put the ball in play and hit it hard.’’

Indeed hit it hard. Bichette currently ranks third in the majors in hard-hit balls and is tied with onrushing Addison Barger for most doubles on the team with 20.

“It’s something we’ve been talking to Bo about,’’ continued Schneider. “What I love about this group is, no one cares where they hit. Honestly, a couple of years ago we felt pigeonholed into using guys in certain spots. It’s not the case this year.’’

Which, however inadvertently, is the clearest look-see that’s been offered into what was going so badly wrong with this team a year ago.

In any event, if there was one definitive certainty about the Jays this season, it’s that Bichette was ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½â€™s leadoff hitter. He’d done so in all 82 of the games he had started prior to the arrival at the Rogers Centre of the Halos, racking up 22 hits when leading off a game — including three home runs — and 47 of his 51 RBIs came from the one-hole.

Not something that needed fixing. But Schneider had a mind to fiddle, now apparently splitting the gig between Ernie Clement and Nathan Lukes. Leadoff, you want somebody who gets on base a lot; cleanup traditionally is your best hitter, cashing in runners.

Bichette discovered the batting order adjustment when he returned to the lineup after missing the entirety (except for a pinch-hit appearance) of ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½â€™s four-game bushwhacking of the New York Yankees. A ditzy injury that caused right knee discomfort: “I was taking ground balls, there were a couple of baseballs left out on the field, made a play, took a couple of steps back and slipped on one of them. Something immediately felt weird.â€�

(No less weird than reliever Yimi García going on the IL with a sprained ankle, suffered on Wednesday whilst getting in the hot/cold tubs.)

It is a different mindset, largely due to the pitches Bichette is seeing from the four-hole: “The biggest difference is probably the first at-bat. First at-bat leading off is pretty much a fastball. As a cleanup hitter, if you’re up in the first inning you’re probably in a pretty important spot in the game — somebody’s on base and you want to drive them in. (Pitchers) are going to go to their best pitches right away, so I have to be ready for that.’’

Across seven seasons, Bichette has experienced the best and worst of the Vladimir Guerrero Jr. era, the two of them in lockstep since the minors. This moment in the team’s evolution feels unprecedented. 

“I’ve been on some pretty good teams with a ton of talent, but I think this is probably the best team that I’ve been on. Really, every single person has a part in helping us win. I’ve never been on a team like that before, especially going through what we went through last year, even the year before. To be able to get to this spot and having everybody being part of something really cool.’’

That oomph is visible on the field and the vibe is felt in the clubhouse.

“There’s just a belief. Not just a belief that we can do anything, but a belief in each other because we trust each other. In the clubhouse, sure, but when we come out on the field, the belief that nobody has to do it by themselves.’’

Bichette has even occasionally been spotted smiling in the dugout. His game face is more a thousand-yard stare. That might have something to do with being in an especially happy place right now, since proposing to girlfriend Alexis in May, their marriage planned for January. The team’s excellence and winning trajectory has all but ruled out that pending free-agent Bichette will be moved by the trade deadline.

He’s always insisted that the dream was to win a World Series with Vladdy, but that assertion rang less true amidst the misery of last season. Maybe he did fancy being somewhere else.

Today, though, he’s back to the authentically Jays-invested and ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½-loving Bo. There has been, he reveals, some discussion with the club on a contract extension.

“Honestly, with the ups and downs we’ve had as an organization in the past six years — super high, super lows — and getting to the point where we’ve gotten now, it would be really tough not to see it through.

“It would be tough for me to leave.’’