Blue Jays' Bo Bichette out for Regular Season amid Injury, Playoff Return Possible

Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette, who hasn't played since Sept. 6 due to a sprained PCL in his left knee, will miss the remainder of the regular season. However, it is possible that Bichette makes a return during the postseason.

Mitch Bannon of The Athletic relayed the news.

Bichette has enjoyed a tremendous year for the 88-62 Blue Jays, who held a five-game lead over the New York Yankees entering Tuesday and are a near-lock for the playoffs. The seven-year veteran leads the majors with 181 hits and 44 doubles while hitting .311 (.840 OPS) alongside 18 home runs and 94 RBI.

The injury occurred during the Blue Jays' 3-1 road loss to the New York Yankees on Sept. 6. Keegan Matheson of MLB.com provided details on Sept. 9.

"Bichette injured his knee Saturday in New York on a hard collision at home plate with Yankees catcher Austin Wells. Bichette made a hard, feet-first slide into home but collided knee-on-knee with Wells' shin protectors.

"In the moment, it looked serious, with Bichette hobbling off the field in clear pain. The game was immediately put into a one-hour, 48-minute rain delay following that play at the plate, though, and Bichette was able to finish the game when play resumed."

Matheson noted that Bichette's X-rays were clean. However, soreness on Sunday and Monday led to an MRI, which revealed the sprain.

Andrés Giménez has been the Blue Jays' shortstop in place of Bichette. For the season, the 27-year-old has hit .211 (.593 OPS) with seven home runs and 30 RBI across 91 games (339 plate appearances). He's best known for his tremendous fielding abilities, which have led to him winning Gold Gloves in each of the past three seasons for the Cleveland Guardians.

Although Toronto has been without one of its best players, the Jays have fared quite well and persevered of late, winning their last five games. They are squarely in the driver's seat to win the AL East and could very well finish the year with the league's No. 1 playoff seed, giving Toronto homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

A division crown (and top-two seed) would be hugely beneficial to the Blue Jays for a few reasons, namely the fact that they'd skip the AL Wild Card Series and go straight to the Divisional Series.

However, it would also buy the Jays a little more time to get Bichette back in the lineup. The regular season ends on Sunday, Sept. 28, and Bichette is confirmed to miss games at least through that date. However, the ALDS doesn't start for six days after that (Saturday, Oct. 4), so Bichette would have nearly a full week to be ready for the start of the playoffs.

We'll find out about Bichette's status soon enough, but hopefully he gets well soon as Toronto looks to complete its tremendous worst-to-first season after finishing last in the division in 2024. In the meantime, the Blue Jays are continuing a seven-game road trip Tuesday with a matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays.