Maybe Bo Bichette can come up surprisingly clutch in the healing department to give a jolt to the Blue Jays and serve New York a new-era Kirk Gibson moment in the American League Division Series.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider made nothing official on Friday, but all signs point to Toronto starting the postseason Saturday without the star shortstop, who hasn’t played since Sept. 6 because of a sprained PCL in his left knee.
Toronto will reveal its official roster for the series on Saturday morning.
It’s not that the Blue Jays don’t covet Bichette’s bat. He hit .373 with 24 doubles and 45 RBIs from July 4 until the injury, and tied for second in MLB in hits (181) and doubles (44) behind Bobby Witt Jr. He was second to Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who hit .331, in batting average (.311).
“We miss him. He knows we miss him,” Vladimir Guerrero Jr. said. “This is God’s plan. Whatever God has for us, we’ve got to take. I hope we win this series and he comes back for the next one.”
As of Friday, Bichette was participating in limited baseball activities. He was able to play catch in the outfield, but did not appear close to clearing the benchmark Toronto circled as most important: running. Bichette has not yet progressed to running in a straight line or performing lateral agility movements.
Even if he believes he can still swing and have an impact, the Blue Jays don’t want to run the multifaceted risk of placing him on the roster only to have him not be healthy enough to contribute.
Toronto went 15-8 in the 23 games Bichette missed this season.
“Just with the way we deploy our guys, we don’t want to deviate too much from what we’ve been doing,” Schneider said Friday, dismissing the idea of giving a roster spot to Bichette in a pinch-hitter role. “It’s not saving him for a Kirk Gibson at-bat that may not come; he’d have to be pretty regular.”
There is increased sensitivity surrounding the situation because of Bichette’s expiring contract. He’s an unrestricted free agent after the World Series. His teammates and manager are eager for Bichette to stay, but first, they want him to have a chance to help determine when Toronto’s season ends.
Andres Gimenez, a free agent signed away from the Guardians, moved from second base to shortstop and has graded out very well defensively.
–Field Level Media
