Not only is Bo Bichette on the Blue Jays’ roster for the World Series, he is right in the middle of the action. Bichette, who hasn’t played since suffering a left knee sprain sliding home on Sept. 6, is in the lineup batting cleanup for Friday’s Game 1 against the Dodgers. He is also playing second base, a position he hasn’t seen action at since one game for Triple-A Buffalo in 2019.
This has been a long, challenging rehab process for Bichette. Initially, the Blue Jays had been optimistic that his knee injury was just cuts and bruises, but tests soon showed a PCL sprain and his progress since then has been slow, the decision looming over both the ALDS and ALCS roster decisions against the Yankees and Mariners.
Prior to the AL Championship Series against the Mariners, Bichette tested his knee running the bases, but was still in clear discomfort. In recent days at Rogers Centre, Bichette has been running and it’s looked somewhat better, but we still haven’t seen the 27-year-old crank it up to full game speed.
Just how healthy he is still isn’t clear, but even 80% of Bichette is worth rostering as the Blue Jays need all the offensive firepower they can get to take down the mighty Dodgers. In addition, playing Bichette in the field allows them to keep George Springer at designated hitter, where he has been for the entire postseason.
