Bo Bichette's impending return will cause a Blue Jays roster crunch

Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette made headlines on Monday when a piece came out (courtesy of Shi Davidi of Sportsnet) quoting him as saying he'd like to stay in Toronto and win a championship with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Obviously, this is the ideal scenario for anyone even remotely tied to the Blue Jays.

This year has been a rough one all around for the club, including for Bichette. The superstar has been on the injured list for a large chunk of the season and when he was healthy, his numbers didn't even come close to the ones Blue Jays fans had grown accustomed to over the years. In a total of 80 games this year, he's hitting .222 with a 69 OPS+ and .595 OPS. His power has been completely absent and his -0.3 bWAR is easily the lowest of his career.

All indications are looking like Bichette is going to make a return before the regular season is done and get one more shot at raising those numbers on the year. On Tuesday, the Jays' Triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bisons shared on X that Bichette was starting a rehab assignment beginning that night. So his march towards a return is officially a "go".

Bo Bichette's return creates a wild roster crunch for the Blue Jays

We've already discussed the fact that the Blue Jays' infield picture is beyond crowded for next season. There are a ton of bodies that are only going to be able to occupy four spots, and two of them are already spoken for to Bichette and Guerrero.

That leaves Spencer Horwitz, Will Wagner, Addison Barger, Ernie Clement, Leo Jimenez, Orelvis Martinez, Davis Schneider and Luis De Los Santos as 40-man options competing for the other two spots in the infield.

That conversation is only going to ramp up once we near the beginning of the 2025 campaign. In the more immediate future, though, Bichette's return to the active roster is going to push somebody back to the minor leagues. Right at this moment, there aren't many obvious candidates to be the one that goes down.

Of the group, Schneider has easily struggled the most this year. He showed plenty of what he's capable of in that incredible 35-game cameo last year, so even if he gets optioned this time, it wouldn't be the last time we'd see him in the big leagues. With the Triple-A season winding down and the Bisons not being a part of the postseason down there, a demotion would represent a chance for Schneider to start his offseason early and get to work earlier.

At his best, the 25-year-old has 15-20 home run potential in his bat and a promising eye and sense of patience at the plate. He's never going to be a player that hits for a high batting average, but he makes up for that by drawing walks and possessing some still-developing in-game power. This year, he's hit just .191 with a 75 OPS+ through 120 games, which is not going to cut it.

Bringing Bichette back into the picture and having the remaining infielders fill out the infield for the rest of the 2024 campaign feels like the way to go. Give Schneider a head start in his offseason regime and have him focus on next year instead of this lost one.