Blue Jays: Bo Bichette is officially shut down until next season

It should come as no surprise, but Bo Bichette has been officially ruled out for the final two games this weekend as he recovers from a concussion.

Not that there’s much of a season left to return for, but it sounds like Bo Bichette has been officially ruled out of playing this weekend, at least according to TSN’s Scott Mitchell.

Mitchell tweeted prior to the game on Saturday that Bichette had informed him that he’s officially done, and that he “Still (has) a couple more steps to clear concussion protocol but he’s feeling better and will be restriction-free this off-season.”

As much as it would have been great to get Bichette back on the field before the season ended, the Blue Jays were wise to take a patient approach with their talented shortstop. That said, they weren’t really given a choice either, given that Bichette had to pass through MLB concussion protocol, but it’s good to see that he wasn’t rushed back.

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A concussion isn’t something to mess around with, but especially not with a potential franchise cornerstone like Bichette. He took the league by storm after his July 30th debut, and ended up slashing .311/.358/.571 with 11 home runs, 18 doubles, and earning 2.2 bWAR in just 46 games. Blue Jays fans expected that he would eventually become a premium MLB player, but he started his career off as the hottest hitter in the league.

While it’s been disappointing for us, and no doubt frustrating for Bichette to sit on the sideline, the good news is it looks like he escaped what could have been a much worse situation. MItchell mentions that Bichette will go through his off-season without restrictions as well, so hopefully this is an injury that Bichette can put behind him and start fresh next season.

The Blue Jays will finish up their 2019 campaign with the final two games against the Tampa Bay Rays.