Bo Bichette left off Blue Jays’ ALDS roster in injury crusher as star pitchers also miss cut

The Blue Jays officially won’t have Bo Bichette for their American League Division Series showdown against the Yankees, as the star shortstop — out since injuring his knee Sept. 6 — was left off their roster.

Bichette’s status appeared to be trending toward that point, with Toronto manager John Schneider telling reporters Friday that it’s “coming down to the wire,” and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. saying that the Blue Jays need to “keep winning, keep advancing” so Bichette can be with them “in the future.”

In addition to their Bichette decision, the Blue Jays also opted not to include veteran right-handers Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt (back injury) — instead settling on a lefty-heavy pitching staff for the best-of-five series that begins Saturday in Toronto.

Bichette, despite missing the final month of the season, finished tied for second in hits (181) — three behind the Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. — and set a career-high for batting average (.311) across a full season.

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“It’s hard to play without Bo,” Guerrero told reporters Friday. “Obviously we didn’t want that to happen, but it’s just part of baseball. Sometimes you’ve got to find a way to grind it as a team and to go out there and try to keep winning, keep advancing. That way we’ll give him a chance to recover fast, and hopefully he can be with the team in the future.”

But when he sprained his left knee while sliding into home plate against the Yankees last month, that forced Toronto to adjust without its staple.

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Andrés Giménez slid from second base to shortstop, and while that’ll likely continue for the next week in the ALDS, Bichette — a free agent this offseason and poised to land a massive deal as one of the top shortstops in the sport — can still return in the ALCS or World Series if the Blue Jays advance.

“Running for one, see how that feels,” Schneider said Friday when asked what Bichette needs to do in order to be activated, “and probably hit some velocity, whether that’s in the cage or off some live pitchers that we do have here from the Triple-A group.”

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Scherzer made just 17 starts during an injury-plagued 2025, with the future Hall of Famer collecting a 5.19 ERA.

Bassitt made 31 starts during the regular season but ended it on the injured list due to back inflammation, and if the Blue Jays advance, he, like Bichette, could be an option to return.