Blue Jays dodge a bullet as Bo Bichette listed as day-to-day following injury scare

Toronto Blue Jays fans can breathe a sigh of relief today, as reports from manager John Schneider and the Jays beat reporters this afternoon indicate that shortstop Bo Bichette’s MRI revealed no significant structural damage in his right knee and that he is considered day-to-day with inflammation for the time being, although an IL stint has not been fully ruled out.

After dropping a single into right field last night against Baltimore Orioles starter Kyle Gibson, Bichette rounded first base and was seen grabbing his right knee while the Orioles infielders tagged him out. After manager John Schneider and the Jays training staff came to see Bichette on the field, the infielder was able to leave the diamond under his own power and was replaced by Santiago Espinal defensively, where the Jays would eventually lose 4-1.

For the Blue Jays, potentially losing Bichette for an extended period of time would have been a devastating blow given how well he has been hitting this season. The righty-batter currently leads the American League in hits (144) and batting average (.321) and has amassed a 134 OPS+ through 449 at-bats. He is currently tied with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for the team lead in home runs (17) while leading the club in terms of slugging (.494) and sitting second only behind Guerrero Jr. with his 59 RBIs. Defensively, Bichette has also made great strides this year on the left side of second base, amassing a .975 fielding percentage on the year with a -1 DRS.

While a possible IL stint has not been ruled out and the Jays will take the next few days to see how his knee reacts, it is definitely a positive sign that nothing structurally is wrong with Bichette’s knee and that he doesn’t require surgery or will keep him away from the team for the season. Considering the club has seen its fair share of struggles with runners in scoring position, losing Bichette’s bat for the long term would be a significant hurdle for the Jays to overcome, as they currently sit third in the AL East and hold just a 2.5-game lead over the Boston Red Sox for the third AL Wild Card spot.

As added insurance, the Blue Jays acquired St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong earlier today in exchange for prospect Matt Svanson, helping shore up the infield that will not only help in Bichette’s absence but also give the infielder additional days off as needed down the stretch should the knee injury flare up at any time (and tackle left-handed pitching as well).