Blue Jays add Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer to ALCS roster; Bo Bichette not included

The Blue Jays have announced the 26 players who will be part of their American League Championship Series roster against the Mariners. As in the ALDS, the Jays will use 13 pitchers and 13 position players, although a few new arms will join the pitching staff. The full list…

Seekers: Alexander Kirk, Tyler Heineman
Infielders: Addison Barger, Ernie Clement, Andrés Giménez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Isiah Kiner-Falefa
Voltigeurs: Nathan Luc, Antoine Santander, Davis Schneider, George Springer, Myles Paille, Daulton Varsho
Left-handed pitchers: Mason Fluharty, Eric Lauer, Brendon Small
Right-handed pitchers: Chris Bassitt, Shane Bieber, Seranthony Dominguez, Braydon Fisher, Kevin Gausman, Jeff Hoffman, Yariel Rodriguez, Max Scherzer, Louis Varland, Trey Yesavage

Starting with the most notable omission from the list, Bo Bichette remains unavailable, as the shortstop has yet to fully recover from a sprained left knee that has kept him out of action since September 6. Bichette didn’t start any running work until last Wednesday, but switching to a bit more intense running on the bases yesterday didn’t yield much progress. Bichette clearly seemed uncomfortable even after this brief session, raising doubts whether he would actually be healthy enough to be activated.

Since Bichette has been able to take batting practice and face live hits, there has been speculation that the Jays could use Bichette solely in a DH role or even as a tight end hitting specialist. Even that limited ability would mean Bichette would have to run in some form if he ended up getting hits, of course, and yesterday’s footage implies that Bichette’s knee is still far from 100 percent.

Technically, the Jays could still activate Bichette at some point during the ALCS if another injury arises. But the most likely scenario is that Bichette won’t see any action until the World Series if Toronto advances, and it remains unclear whether even 12 additional days of rest and rehab will be enough for Bichette to return during the Jays’ playoff run.

At this point, the Blue Jays have gotten used to playing without Bichette to some extent. Gimenez has established himself as the glove-first option at shortstop, and the Jays will be able to both win the AL East and defeat the Yankees in the ALDS without Bichette available. That said, obviously Toronto’s lineup is better with Bichette than without, and the Jays figure to misfire against the Mariners’ deep pitching staff.

Speaking of rotations, Bassitt and Scherzer return to the roster after being held out of the ALCS. Scherzer was omitted since manager John Schneider felt the veteran was not adjusting well against the Yankees in particular, while Bassitt was not fully recovered from a sore back that sent him to the 15-day injured list on September 19. The Jays felt they could navigate the five-game ALDS with just three starters (Gausman, Yesavage, Bieber) on the roster, and that proved to be the case, as the relief corps stepped up with a big performance from the bullpen in the deciding Game 4.

Gausman is set to start Game 1, and in all likelihood, rookie sensation Yesavage will start Game 2 and Bieber will pitch in Game 3. Still, Gausman is the only announced starter so far, so the Blue Jays could still be creative with their exact deployment of their starters. Of course, all five starters won’t actually start, which leaves questions about how Bassitt or Scherzer will be used. Bassitt has a bit more career experience as a reliever, but Scherzer has struggled so much down the stretch that this recent form is a bigger factor for the Jays than Scherzer’s distinguished postseason record.

Bassitt and Scherzer will replace relievers Tommy Nance and Justin Bruihl. Nance was working his way into a higher-leverage job after posting a 1.99 ERA over 30 1/3 innings in the regular season, but he didn’t look sharp posting a 13.50 ERA over 1 1/3 innings in the ALDS. Bruihl was charged with two earned runs in his only third of an inning of ALDS work, and the left-hander was something of a 26th man for much of Toronto’s season, as he logged 13 2/3 innings with a 5.27 ERA.