After spraining his left knee in early September, it wasn’t known when, or even if, Blue Jays infielder Bo Bichette would return to Toronto’s lineup in 2025.
But with the Blue Jays set to kick off the World Series against the Dodgers on Thursday night, the club will get an offensive boost as the 27 year old slugger is set to make his highly anticipated postseason debut.
“I’m comfortable with whatever the team needs me to do,” Bichette said Thursday during media day availability. “So I’ll be ready for whatever.” Bichette is expected to play 2nd base and bat cleanup for the Jays who open as heavy underdogs at most sports books against Los Angeles.
Usually the team’s everyday shortstop, Bichette will be replaced by Andres Gimenez as he continues to recover from his injury. The right handed batter hasn’t played 2nd base regularly since his minor league days, but Toronto’s front office was eager to get his skills at the plate back into their lineup.
“It was more about what we were seeing and then talking about upside, downside,” GM Ross Atkins said. “How he was responding and feeling, his confidence hitting that top gear… Ultimately, our confidence in his hands, his athleticism, his instincts.”
Bichette posted a .311/.357/.483 slash line with 18 home runs and 94 RBIs. At the time of his injury he led MLB with 181 hits, but still finished tied for second in hits and doubles (44) despite missing the final 20 games of the regular season.
In a corresponding move, Toronto added Ty France to their roster, while removing Yariel Rodriguez and Joey Loperfido to make room.
With left hander Blake Snell ready to take the mound for Game 1, the Jays opted for a more right handed heavy lineup. As such, they’ll sit Nathan Lukes, and Addison Barger to make room for Davis Schneider and Myles Straw.
Photo: D. Benjamin Miller. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.