Bo Bichette took a small step forward on Wednesday in his recovery from a left PCL sprain. The star shortstop was seen jogging in the outfield at Yankee Stadium prior to Game 4 of the ALDS, reported Mitch Bannon of The Athletic. It’s the first we’ve heard of on-field running work for Bichette since he went down with the knee injury on September 6. Bannon added that Bichette jogged three times in the outfield for about 50 yards, but still had a noticeable limp when he walked back.
Bichette has been out for just over a month since injuring his knee on a slide against the Yankees. He’d been able to hit in the batting cage, but hadn’t progressed to any sort of running drills until today. Bichette was unsurprisingly left off of Toronto’s ALDS roster. Andres Gimenez has picked up the majority of the starts at shortstop in Bichette’s stead. He’s played short in each of the Blue Jays’ playoff games so far. Ernie Clement also picked up a couple of starts at shortstop in September.
While the progress is encouraging for Bichette, he still has multiple hurdles to clear before making his 2025 postseason debut. He’ll certainly need to shake off the limp before moving to more intense drills. Toronto will likely want to see him field ground balls at shortstop before considering adding him to the playoff roster. The ALCS starts on Sunday, so there isn’t much time for Bichette to get back into playing shape before the next round. The World Series, if the Blue Jays were to advance that far, might be a more reasonable goal for Bichette at this point.
Toronto’s DH situation is somewhat crowded, so the best route for Bichette to make an impact in the playoffs might be off the bench, similar to how the Dodgers used catcher Will Smith as he recovered from a hand fracture. Smith didn’t make an appearance against Cincinnati, but has been able to contribute as a sub in the NLDS against Philadelphia. He scored on Teoscar Hernandez’s go-ahead home run in Game 1, then knocked in a couple of runs with a single in Game 2. Smith will draw his first start of the postseason in Game 3 on Wednesday.
The knee injury cut short Bichette’s best full season at the plate. He posted a healthy 134 wRC+, his best mark since his brief 46-game stint as a rookie in 2019. Bichette’s .311 batting average ranked second in the league behind only Aaron Judge. The shortstop finished the regular season with 628 plate appearances, his most since 2022. While the power and speed tailed off, Bichette showed the best plate discipline of his career in 2025. He cut his strikeout rate to 14.5%, the first time he’d been below 19% in the big leagues. Bichette’s 6.4% walk rate, while still not great, was his best mark since 2019.
Toronto’s offense hasn’t felt the loss of Bichette so far in the postseason, piling up 29 runs against the Yankees. They lead the league with nine playoff home runs, which is especially impressive considering they’ve only played three games. On an individual level, the results haven’t been as inspiring. Gimenez has been fine, going 3-for-11 with a couple of runs batted in. Glove-first veteran Isiah Kiner-Falefa has seen time at second base with Gimenez sliding over to shortstop, but has gone hitless in six at-bats and made an error in Game 3. Addison Barger then had his own defensive miscue after replacing Kiner-Falefa in the eventual loss.
A return in the postseason might ease some concerns for potential Bichette suitors this offseason. He’ll be one of the top free agents on the market heading into 2026, but persistent injury issues might affect the length and dollar amount of his next contract. Calf and finger injuries wrecked Bichette’s 2024 season. He missed time with knee and quad issues in 2023. Getting back to action during this playoff run could be a boost to his value as he looks for a new deal.
Is this moment to moment life updates?
With any luck, he doesn’t play again until next year.
Well…
fan – Karma.
Haha hey NYY Vladdy IS your daddy
Next update:
Bichette progresses to trotting at a rapid gait.
I don’t think it’s unreasonable to post about health updates for a player who could have major impacts on his team’s postseason.
Oh me either. My Brain just kind of read it as if someone was commentating his life. Kind of like my cousin on Facebook. Next would be something like “no bichette has a turkey sandwich with light mayo” and “Bo bichette takes a nap” it’s kinda stupid but i found it mildly humorous
The article seems to be more concerned about how his injury will affect his next contract than Toronto’s chances in the playoffs.
@ben – exactly
Ranking worst type of MLBTR comments:
1A. Complaining about the type of articles MLBTR posts
1B. Complaining about grammatical errors
I hope bichette makes it back soon. I hate watching a star miss a deep playoff run, ala Acuna during Braves WS win or Frank Thomas during White Sox WS win
You seem to have mistaken my comment as a complaint
Well the guy is one of the best in baseball
I think the Red Sox or the Blue Jays or the Orioles or even the Rays should give him 12 years/$840M guaranteed, no deferrals and should start at like $40M a year and gradually rise to $100M in the 12th year and include a $20M signing bonus paid upfront so they pay out $60M in the first year alone.
Totally think one of those teams should give him that contract.
Doesn’t sound like enough……
You’re right. I was low balling it.
15 years/$1.575B, of which there’s a $75M signing bonus and year one is $100M straight up.
Still a bit of a team discount, but close enough to his true value.
Unless he’s okay with moving to 2B I doubt Toronto re-signs him. And since he’d have less value as a 2B, I doubt he agrees. We’ll see.
Is there a team that would sign him without the understanding that his SS days will be limited, if any?
Either way he will have a lot of suitors and get a big contract. Rightfully so
It’s a soft J
Apparently, you just run.
On track to help them win the world series.
I believe it’s pronounced yogging
He was introduced to this ‘yogging’ activity by his special lady friend Veronica.
Getting ready for the next series.
Blue Jays just eliminated the Yankees, thus the ALCS starts Sunday evening in Toronto.
Congrats to the Blue Jays! Where’s that Lukes hater? ;D
@Spaced-Cowboy
Worst batter, ever!!!
Yes! What a deep line up
Springer gets his old arse back in to RF, bichette DH, Santander moves in to a PH role.
Santander should be PH regardless. I’d rather see Barger/Straw in RF
I would much rather they leave Santander off the ALCS lineup. He looks brutal most ABs. Maybe came back too early who knows. One fairly big base hit in a series doesn’t cut it.
At this point Straw in the OF over him hands down
Both would be in, it’s IKf that would come off, and it’s hard to argue him over Santander especially in a pinch hit role
Santander had some good long at bats in the division series that were outs. But he hasn’t hit a home run yet, and that’s his entire value really — he’s not a guy you expect to impress you between the home runs.
But I’d probably just make it 14 position players 12 pitchers. If you add Bassitt and Sherzer on the pitching side you don’t need as many relievers. I’d rather have the defensive flexibility of IKF, the potential power of Santander and the bat of Bichette than another reliever who won’t get into a game.
I’m not sure I put max on the roster. His stuff doesn’t play out of the pen and the mariners lineup has too much power to let max and his hard contact problems try to get through twice.
So, BJs vs. Doyers final?
I too have resumed some light jogging.
And I’ve resumed light typing.