The Blue Jays announced that shortstop Bo Bichette has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 28, with a right quad strain. Infielder Mason McCoy has been selected to the roster in a corresponding move. The club already had a 40-man vacancy.
For Bichette, it’s his second trip to the IL this month, as he landed there in early August due to patellar tendinitis in his right knee. The Jays acquired Paul DeJong from the Cardinals to cover for Bichette’s absence but he hit just .068/.068/.068 for the Jays and was designated for assignment when Bichette returned just over two weeks later. Unfortunately, Bichette departed a game earlier this week due to quad tightness and it seems it’s serious enough that the club will give him at least a week-plus to rest. The club hasn’t provided any details on how long they expect Bichette to be out.
The move leaves the Jays without both of their regulars from the left side of their infield, as third baseman Matt Chapman landed on the IL yesterday due to a right middle finger sprain. That will leave the club improving solutions for those spots as they look to stay afloat in the American League Wild Card race. Perhaps the club has some regret over letting go of DeJong, but he hasn’t been thriving since signing with the Giants, hitting just .150/.143/.300 since signing with that club.
Ernie Clement played shortstop for the Jays yesterday and is in that spot again tonight. Davis Schneider was at the hot corner last night but Santiago Espinal gets the nod tonight, as Schneider moves over to second. Cavan Biggio has some third base experience and the club reportedly has some openness to using Vladimir Guerrero Jr. there as well, though it sounds like that might be limited to late-game defensive swaps based on in-game moves.
They will also add McCoy to their roster to serve as infield depth. He was just acquired a month ago from the Mariners with Trent Thornton heading the other way. The 28-year-old McCoy has long been considered a strong defender, though with his bat not drawing as much praise. In 467 Triple-A appearances this year, he’s walked at a 12% clip but also struck out 29.3% of the time. His .226/.324/.383 line amounts to a wRC+ of just 71, but he’s been able to play some shortstop, second base, third base and left field. He’ll give the Jays a glove-first option on the bench, making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.
Active rosters expand from 26 to 28 in September, which will provide the Jays an opportunity to potentially add another infielder into the mix. A maximum of 14 of the 28 players can be pitchers, meaning the Jays will have to add at least one position player, as they currently have a 13-13 split. Addison Barger, Orelvis Martinez and Spencer Horwitz are all on the 40-man roster and could be options. Barger and Martinez both have plenty of experience on the left side of the diamond but neither has made their major league debut yet. Horwitz was able to debut in the big leagues earlier this year but has mostly just played first base and left field. Outfielder Nathan Lukes is also on the 40-man but doesn’t have any infield experience.
McCoy and Espinal can battle out for worst player in the league down the stretch in a playoff race.
Fun times.
I don’t even root for the Jays but they drive me crazy. Rafael Lantigua has had a very underrated season at AAA this year and they refuse to give him a shot. Guy plays all over the field (although primarily 2B) and he’s got almost a .900 OPS.
He doesn’t have much prospect “pedigree”–but neither did Davis Schneider and look at what he’s doing. I’m sure they aren’t wanting to replace someone on the 40-man with him, but he’s R5 eligible and will 100% be picked up by another team IMO this winter if they refuse to add him.
He should have been getting reps at 2B as early as like June. Might have made the DeJong add unnecessary if the bat and glove worked well enough to be a serviceable backup option for Bichette. He can’t possibly be any worse than what they’ve gotten at 2B this year anyways, so why not give him a chance?
Martinez, Barger would also offer a boost offensively. They essentially called up McCoy to be an injury replacement, which is an odd decision.
There’s been very interesting decisions all year
Agreed on the last part, Dusty. Both in the front office and on the field. J Schneider has made some very questionable decisions.
I dont really understand this either. They have Lantigua who has plqced greqt this year and 2 of there top prospects in Barger and Martinez amd 2/3 of those should be up here after making 2 call ups in 2 days. Whats more is Chapman is gone and KK is a FA along with whitt possiably going. So they need at least 1 if not both of Barger and Martinez to make the team next year. Let them get there god dang feet wet now. I know throwing them into the fire of a playoff race is not ideal BUT by not selling off chapman amd some expiring contracts like i wanted, cuz this just did semm to be there year, they have to call up there most offencive peices to get into plqyoff position
Stick a fork in em their done
What kind of done is it?
De Dung get a shortstop to cover for him, he comes back so they release him then Bo gets injured again. Jays ain’t flying to high.
Like I wondered on the previous Bichette article , Jays looking for a pinch runner only.
The guy being called up is a stunt double, not the real McCoy.
It seems his knee injury wasn’t fully healed.. this quad issue is in the same league as the previous knee issue. Probably rushed back, and now they’ll pay the price.
Nice job on the trade with the Cardinals. Front office are a bunch of clowns.
The front office has been a bunch of clowns since they were hired in 2015/2016. Nothing has changed. They have made some good moves over the years but the number of bonehead decisions far outweigh the good ones. Alphonse and Gastonne.
Seems to me schnider is out amd mattingly will be the manager before next season. They over paid for varsho he was a league average bat in the desert. I really would lile to know how much both the jays and cards would like a redo on a catcher for outfielder trade
This is a gut punch, because Bo is their most reliable hitter and iron man.
This is going to be my rookie auto in the 2024 chrome hobby boxes next year….
The left side of the Blue Jays Infield has become a barren waste land all of a sudden
Horwitz has hit all year, but unfortunately he’s a man without a true position. Enter McCoy.
What the Jays should have done is promoted a guy like Cam Eden for one reason: baserunning. Steal a bag, pinch run.
They have no need for McCoy either. If he is playing the Jays gave up. There is no reason to bring McCoy up over Barger lets say for 3B. Or Horwitz (Corner OF/1B)
I can understand not calling up Barger who’s hitting better the second half. But McCoy makes no sense. Bench bat (Horwitz) or bench wheels (Eden).
There was a lot of reason for McCoy to play last night and he didn’t. Now everyone is fuming about it.
Donaldson is available. ?
He does still whack LHP and plays decent 3B. But you really don’t want him playing every day, especially running the base paths. He’s a bench bat, 9th inning defensive replacement. Which…the Jays could use right now.
He is still hurt.
Good point Vol, I clearly wasn’t thinking properly.
Hoping they call up Hatfield soon to take 2B.
Whelp the Injury Bug comes around to every team sooner or later…Jays were playing with house money when it came to overall health of roster over first 2/3 rds of season. Now it’s their turn in the barrell, timing not ideal.
Maybe the Yankees will put IKF on waivers and save on his contract. He would be a better fill-in for Chapman than what they have now.
Jays have a beast rookie, no worries.