TORONTO – As Teoscar Hernandez remains in limbo while he awaits a second MRI on his strained left oblique, Bo Bichette is trending toward a weekend return from a right knee sprain that at the time looked like it would submarine the Toronto Blue Jays‘ season.
Instead, the club takes a 16-7 mark since its star shortstop hit the injured list Aug. 16 into Tuesday night’s contest against the New York Yankees, and can only hope to be similarly successful in surviving Hernandez’s absence, however long it may be.
“We feel like it’s our responsibility now to take over,” Lourdes Gurriel Jr., named the American League Player of the Week after going 14-for-30 with three doubles, two homers and six RBIs over eight games, said Tuesday in comments interpreted by Hector Lebron. “They both got hurt when they were putting up good numbers, they were hot at the time, now we all feel like we’ve got to be responsible and try to do our best until they come back.”
Hernandez is slated to undergo the second MRI on Wednesday, according to manager Charlie Montoyo, as swelling around the injury must first subside to get more a definitive view of the damage.
Bichette, meanwhile, was scheduled Tuesday to play a few innings of shortstop at the club’s alternate training site in Rochester, after taking five at-bats as the DH on Monday, hitting three line drives up the middle, according to Montoyo.
He’s working his way back from a Grade 1 sprain of the lateral collateral ligament and the key test is how he recovers from the wear and tear of being on his feet defensively, with a rough target of Saturday or Sunday against the New York Mets for his activation.
“I’m optimistic that it could be some time on the weekend,” said Montoyo, “and that’s earlier than I thought it was going to be when it first happened, that’s for sure.”
Along with the looming return of closer Ken Giles, whose live batting practice session Tuesday “went well,” according to Montoyo, that could be two significant additions for the Blue Jays as they aim to lock down their first post-season spot since 2016.
Part of the reason they’ve been able to overcome those absences, along with injuries to starters Matt Shoemaker (lat), Nate Pearson (elbow) and Trent Thornton (season-ending surgery to remove loose particles from his elbow), plus ace set-up man Jordan Romano, is the way others have jumped into the void.
Once Bichette was hurt, Randal Grichuk helped carry the club for a period, followed by Hernandez’s surge, along with current hot streaks from Rowdy Tellez and Gurriel, who since Aug. 17 is batting .358 (29-for-81) with seven doubles, five homers and 20 RBIs in 22 games.
“At the beginning of the season, as you know, I wasn’t doing that well,” said Gurriel. “But now I’m more consistent at the plate, I think I’m using the middle of the field now, that’s what I’ve been concentrating on and it’s been working so far and hopefully it will keep working for the rest of the season.”
