Blue Jays Lose Two Key Infielders Amid Disappointing Series Loss to Guardians
Sunday’s 10-7 loss to the Cleveland Guardians was a crushing blow for the Toronto Blue Jays – both regarding their diminishing playoff chances and what the future holds for the left side of their infield.
By dropping the series finale, the franchise fell to 71-60 on the season, putting them 2.5 games back of the Houston Astros for the final AL wild-card seed. With only 31 contests remaining, the walls have begun to draw a tad closer as their postseason odds decreased to 49 percent per FanGraphs.
If that weren’t enough, there’s now uncertainty surrounding shortstop Bo Bichette and third baseman Matt Chapman, each of whom departed Sunday’s game due to injury.
Bichette, who returned from the 10-day IL on August 19th in Cincinnati, shockingly exited after the fifth inning due to right quad tightness and is considered day-to-day, according to Blue Jays manager John Schneider.
The 25-year-old infielder jogged gingerly to first base during his final at-bat before being replaced by Santiago Espinal in the sixth. It is, however, worth noting that Schneider described this latest ailment as “separate” from the right patella tendinitis that sidelined him for 16 games.
Toronto intends to determine Bichette’s next steps prior to Monday’s series opener versus the Washington Nationals.
“He’s been feeling it a little bit in his quad,” Schneider told reporters post-game, including Sportsnet’s David Singh. “[He’s been] playing through it a little bit. So, just wanted to be careful. I don’t think he really hurt anything. I think it was just more precaution than anything.”
Then, in the bottom half of the sixth, the anxiousness continued as Chapman left with right middle finger inflammation – an issue stemming from a weight rack-related injury – and was relieved for pinch-hitter Whit Merrifield.
The 30-year-old was held out of action for nearly a week earlier this month after initially injuring his right middle finger. But a 10-pitch at-bat on Sunday re-aggravated it, which could land Chapman back on the shelf.
“A lot of swings in that at-bat in particular,” Schneider said. “He’s been grinding through it. He’s going to go get an MRI on it tonight just to kind of check everything out.”
This news also came on the same day that reliever Erik Swanson – one of the club’s most impactful pitchers this season – was placed on the 15-day IL with thoracic spine inflammation. That saw Jay Jackson, who allowed four runs, three earned in the 11th inning, recalled from Triple-A Buffalo.
The Blue Jays, of course, cannot afford to lose Chapman or Bichette – a duo worth a combined 6.5 fWAR in 2023 – for an extended period of time, especially not when they’re in the midst of a playoff push.
Bichette has been Toronto’s best hitter this season, posting 18 home runs, 62 RBIs, a .314/.344/.488 and a 129 wRC+ – good for second on the team behind Brandon Belt’s 134 – across 114 games. He leads the AL in hits (152) and trails Tampa Bay’s Yandy Díaz (.326) by only 12 points in the batting title race.
Chapman enjoyed a phenomenal start to the season, exploding to a .384/.465/.687 clip with five home runs, 21 RBIs and a 215 wRC+ over his first 27 contests. But he’s been relatively mediocre in the 98 games since then, slashing .211/.303/.360 with an 85 wRC+.
The three-time Gold Glove winner – a free agent this winter – will hope to catch fire and avoid an IL stint as the sprint to October heats up with less than five weeks remaining in the regular season.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.