Bo Bichette exited tonight’s sport after six innings. The Blue Jays shortstop got here up limping out of the batter’s field after hitting a line drive to proper area. Toronto introduced that Bichette suffered a proper calf damage. Supervisor John Schneider stated postgame that he was headed for an MRI (hyperlink by way of Keegan Matheson of MLB.com).
A pressure in the identical calf despatched Bichette to the injured listing final month. The 26-year-old infielder returned after a minimal stint. Tonight’s evident setback may ship him again to the shelf. Even a minimal IL keep would hold him out by the July 30 commerce deadline.
With the Jays plummeting out of playoff rivalry, Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have been the topic of some commerce hypothesis. GM Ross Atkins shot down the possibility of transferring both participant final month, however the Jays have fallen extra undoubtedly from the postseason fringe since then. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported final week that Toronto was nonetheless extra targeted on transferring impending free brokers. Bichette is beneath contract for $16.5MM subsequent season and can hit free company after the ’25 marketing campaign.
This summer season can be an inopportune time to deal Bichette even when the Jays hearken to provides on extra controllable gamers. This has been by far probably the most difficult season of his profession. He’s hitting .222/.275/.320 over 331 journeys to the plate. Bichette has 4 longballs after reaching the 20-homer threshold in three consecutive seasons. He may now be headed for his second IL stint in as many months.
In additional optimistic damage information, the Jays welcomed Yimi GarcÃa again from the 15-day injured listing earlier than right this moment’s sport. The veteran reliever missed a month with ulnar neuritis in his elbow. GarcÃa is considered one of six impending free brokers on the Toronto roster and has a robust probability to maneuver earlier than the deadline. The fitting-hander owns a 2.57 ERA by 28 innings. GarcÃa is working a personal-best 34.6% strikeout charge whereas producing swinging strikes on 13.4% of his choices. He’s enjoying on a $6MM wage and needs to be a goal for contenders in search of a setup possibility.
Justin Turner is one other of the leases whom the Jays may look to maneuver this month. Dealing Turner would open the designated hitter spot. That’d theoretically open a possibility for Joey Votto. Sadly, the previous MVP’s homecoming with the Jays has been sidetracked by accidents. Votto damage his proper ankle throughout Spring Coaching and has spent the season on the Triple-A injured listing. He was set to start his stint for Triple-A Buffalo tonight earlier than tweaking his ankle throughout pre-game work (relayed on X by Kaitlyn McGrath of the Athletic). He’ll be reevaluated tomorrow.
