It’s the biggest weekend in recent memory for the Toronto Blue Jays, and as of Saturday, the American League Division Series is already off to an ominous note.
As the New York Yankees rolled into town to begin a best-of-five set on Saturday, the Blue Jays announced their initial roster for the ALDS. And there were two very noteworthy omissions — one big name who was injured, and another who simply lost the team’s trust.
On Saturday, the Blue Jays’ roster announcement was made on social media, and unless injuries occur, this series will be played without star shortstop Bo Bichette or future Hall of Fame starting pitcher Max Scherzer.
Bichette, who will be a free agent at the end of the season, was having an excellent season and would have likely led Major League Baseball in hits had he not been injured in early September. But a sprained knee, suffered on a slide into home plate against the Yankees, has not recovered well enough to allow the two-time All-Star to return.
Scherzer, however, was left off purely because he could no longer be trusted to put up scoreless innings, in the view of the organization. He finished the year with a 5.19 ERA in 17 starts, but over his last six starts, that ERA was 9.00 across 25 innings, including 37 hits and eight home runs allowed.
Leaving an eight-time All-Star and three-time Cy Young Award winner out of the playoff mix is a tough choice to make, but Scherzer didn’t leave the Blue Jays much wiggle room. If he couldn’t be trusted to start, it was hard to see where he fit into the bullpen mix.
The notable roster updates didn’t stop there. Starting pitcher Chris Bassitt also wasn’t included due to a back injury suffered on Sept. 20, which evidently still needs a bit more time to heal. The same goes for fellow right-hander José Berríos, who went on the injured list on Sept. 25 with right elbow inflammation, and seems to have a slower recovery timeline than Bassitt.
That leaves the Blue Jays down three potential options to start a game, meaning the rotation boils down to Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, recently-debuted rookie Trey Yesavage, and perhaps swingmen Eric Lauer and/or Yariel Rodríguez.
It’s clear that the Blue Jays are going in shorthanded. That’s never an excuse teams will lean on at this time of year, but not having a key middle-of-the-order bat and three of the most seasoned members of the pitching staff will present real challenges against this supremely talented Yankees squad.
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