TORONTO — It happened exactly as the Blue Jays feared.
Bo Bichette hit a fly ball into the right-field corner in the bottom of the sixth inning Friday, and with a pitch that the ball was going to fall on, he darted out of the box down the first-base line. Five steps later, Bichette injured himself, hopping forward on his only left leg.
On July 10 in San Francisco, Bichette was removed from the game with a right calf fascia strain, an injury that did not appear to be as serious as this one. After that game, standing in the hallway outside the Blue Jays’ locker room at Oracle Park, manager John Schneider said Bichette had wanted to stay on the field, but he wanted to keep his shortstop away from a situation where he could “sniff out a hit and get it out of the box.”
Schneider was right. Nine days later, after the Blue Jays’ 5-4 loss to the Tigers at Rogers Centre, Bichette suffered a right calf strain and was placed on the 10-day injured list after undergoing an MRI. Addison Barger was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo.
“He was uncomfortable,” Schneider said. “We’ll see how it goes tomorrow and we’ll take it from there, I just feel bad for him. It’s unfortunate for him and for us.”
Bichette’s injury history
Bichette is dealing with a stack of injuries, which can be concerning. Compare that to someone like Danny Jansen, for example, whose injury history can be attributed to some “bad luck” with balls and pitches hitting him in the hands. In Bichette’s case, we’re seeing soft tissue injuries in the same areas of the body, over and over again.
In 2023, Bichette was placed on injured reserve in early August with patellar tendinitis in his right knee. Eight games after returning from that injury, he left a game in the sixth inning and was placed on injured reserve once again with a right quadriceps strain. The words are different, but both injuries occurred in the area of his right knee.
This time around, we see Bichette hurt his calf, also on the right side. Bichette missed 10 days with a right calf strain in late June, then dealt with a fascia strain just before the All-Star break. The strain, which will likely come with a stint on the injured list this time around, is the third notable injury to that area in a month.
Bichette is hitting .223 with a .597 OPS. That’s just not him. Of all the offensive disappointments the Blue Jays have overcome this season, Bichette’s long stretch of slump is perhaps the most surprising — and it hasn’t reversed itself, like George Springer’s, for example. Those repeated injuries to the load-bearing leg in his swing have to be a factor to some extent.
The short term
Whether Bichette is out for a few days or a few weeks, fifth-string prospect Leo Jiménez will have a chance to play shortstop regularly in the major leagues. He has looked healthy since his promotion, batting .348, and has a reputation as a rock-solid defender. Nothing in the moment has felt too big for him, either. He has, simply put, adapted.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa is still in the early stages of recovery from his knee injury, so while Ernie Clement will be a factor at shortstop, Jimenez should get plenty of running time.
The Blue Jays also need to learn more about Jiménez as they head into 2025. Is he a candidate for a role like the one Clement started the season in — a part-time utility infielder — or could he compete for something more permanent? Down the road, when Bichette likely becomes a free agent after the 2025 season, will Jiménez have what it takes to replace him if he ends up leaving? The next few days — or weeks — will become part of that evaluation.
The long term
Chris Bassitt, brief and to the point after another tough loss, summed it up nicely:
Even though Bichette has struggled, he remains the one player who could give the Blue Jays a run. Bichette’s winning streaks are dazzling, and if his .597 OPS suddenly turned into 15 hits in 10 games like he’s fully capable of, then maybe that miraculous streak would still be there.
For now, the Blue Jays need to focus on 2025, which appears to be the final year of the recruiting window for this core in its current form. The Blue Jays need Bichette, and he, in what will be his final year at the helm, needs to do his best with the free-agent market coming. Ending this pileup of injuries should be their first step.
