Blue Jays Facing Troubling Development After Bo Bichette News

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Gavin Groe | Last updated Sep 26, 2025 4:44 PM ET

The Toronto Blue Jays are entering Friday tied atop the AL East, as the surging New York Yankees have taken five straight games. Both clubs will enter the final regular season series of the year with an identical 91–68 record.

Fortunately for Toronto, they own the tiebreaker over New York. However, the offense has been struggling to produce recently, as they’ve been playing without their starting shortstop, Bo Bichette.

The 27-year-old star still leads all of baseball with 181 hits, yet he has not appeared in action since September 6 after suffering a left knee sprain. Bichette’s injury came at an unfortunate time, as the Blue Jays’ division lead has disappeared since he went on the injured list. It also interrupted another impressive campaign from the two-time All-Star, as he had posted a .370 batting average, .423 on-base percentage, .989 OPS, 25 extra-base hits and 41 RBIs in just 46 games in the second half.

Bo Bichette Update Emerges Before Rays Game

While Bichette has received multiple opinions on his knee confirming there’s no structural damage, he was still ruled out for the regular season as he recovers. He has made progress in his rehab and continued to take dry swings and even began to throw on Friday before Toronto’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays.

However, Bichette still has not progressed to running and there does not seem to be a timetable for when that may come (via Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith). His ability to run will be the biggest hurdle he needs to clear to return to action, as any discomfort in his knee would risk reaggravation. Bichette is set to hit unrestricted free agency this offseason, and any structural damage to his knee could jeopardize his chances of landing a lucrative long-term deal.

Bo Bichette continues swinging and has begun throwing a bit but timeline for a running progression still unclear. Jays hopeful Bichette will be able to return to the lineup during playoffs — the question is when and in what capacity.
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) September 26, 2025

With Bichette still unable to run, the Blue Jays are facing a troubling development, as they will likely enter the first round of the postseason without his efforts. Toronto is still in a position to clinch a top-two seed in the AL and earn a first-round bye, but even then Bichette’s return is not guaranteed.

In his absence, the Blue Jays have turned to a few options to handle shortstop duties, such as Ernie Clement, Andres Gimenez and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, but none come close to providing the value Bichette does in the batter’s box.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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