At this point, you couldn’t blame Bo Bichette if he never wanted to discuss the 2024 baseball season again.
The homegrown Blue Jays shortstop was already on the 10-game injured list after injuring the middle finger on his right hand in his first game back following a lengthy absence due to a calf strain.
Before Wednesday’s game with Boston, Jays manager John Schneider revealed Bichette will have surgery on the finger, where he’ll have a pin inserted in the digit.
Bichette is expected to be ready for spring training.
All told, Bichette managed just 81 games this season and who knows for how many of those he was actually fully healthy?
The injuries clearly took their toll on his performance as he hit an uncharacteristic .225 with just four homers and 31 RBIs in a down year at the worst possible time from a contractual standpoint.
Bichette will head into the final year of his current contract next season. Under normal circumstances, a team would be looking to extend one of its star homegrown players to ensure they don’t get away in free agency, but there has been little movement on that front.
An injury-plagued season certainly didn’t help make a decision of that magnitude any easier.
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Meanwhile, the Jays recalled right-hander Brett de Geus from triple-A Buffalo and optioned fellow reliever Tommy Nance to the team’s spring training complex.
The Blue Jays claimed de Geus off waivers from the Miami Marlins on Sept. 12.
He has a 0-2 record and 5.00 earned-run average over 11 appearances this season with Miami and the Seattle Mariners.
Nance made 20 appearances for the Blue Jays this year. He was 0-3 with a 4.09 ERA.
— With files from The Canadian Press.