Bo Bichette will find a different Toronto Blue Jays team Monday night than the one he left when he visits with the New York Mets to open a three-game series.
The infielder’s final game with the Blue Jays was Game 7 of the 2025 World Series at Toronto. Bichette hit a three-run homer in the third inning of the decisive game that the Los Angeles Dodgers eventually won 5-4 in 11 innings.
Bichette signed as a free agent with the Mets, who have had a disappointing season and have dropped eight of nine after losing 5-4 to the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday to complete a 1-6 homestand.
It was New York’s third game under interim manager Andy Green, who took over when Carlos Mendoza was fired.
The Blue Jays have not been able to replicate last season’s magic. They have lost six in a row after dropping the finale of a four-game series with the Texas Rangers 3-2 on Sunday. It was the first time that Toronto has been swept in a four-game series at home since Sept. 11-14, 2023, also by Texas.
The Blue Jays are 1-6 during a 10-game homestand that was supposed to help them turn the corner on the season. Instead, they have turned the corner so often they are going in circles.
Bichette and his friend on the Blue Jays, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., have both struggled in 2026. Bichette, playing at shortstop and third base this season, is batting .254/.300/.388 with 10 homers and 46 RBIs after going .311/.357/.483 with 18 homers and 94 RBIs in 2025 despite dealing with an injury.
First baseman Guerrero is batting .268/.348/.349 with four homers and 34 RBIs. He batted .292/.381/.467 with 23 homers and 84 RBIs in the regular season in 2025 and was a postseason star.
Left-hander Sean Manaea (1-2, 4.87 ERA) is the expected Mets starter for Monday. He is 2-0 with a 3.16 ERA in seven games (six starts) against the Blue Jays.
Right-hander Trey Yesavage (3-3, 3.56) is Toronto’s scheduled starter. He has not faced the Mets.
Three of Toronto’s four losses to Texas were by one run. The Rangers’ winning run on Sunday scored when pinch runner Jarred Kelenic came home from second base on a wild pitch.
“Last thing you expect,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “We’ve been through those swings before where it’s real high, then real low in a game.”
The Blue Jays have allowed at least one run in the first inning in seven consecutive games, and they have been late to respond with rallies that have fallen short.
“Obviously, we’re not getting any offense going early in games,” Schneider said. “That’s well-documented and that’s something we talk about almost daily in terms of what we can control in terms of prep and what we can control in terms of adjusting as the game goes.”
While the Blue Jays still have an American League wild-card spot in range, the Mets are in a deeper hole in the National League.
“Look, we’re not oblivious to where we’re at in the standings and our record,” Mets reliever A.J. Minter told Newsday. “But at the same time, we still have a month to turn things around. We’re not as far back as people think we are.
“I truly believe if we get five games out of the wild card, I do believe we can potentially go out there and make a run at this thing and not necessarily be sellers (at the trade deadline).”
–Field Level Media
