Blue Jays add Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer to ALCS roster; Beau Bichette not included

The Blue Jays announced their 26-player roster for the American League Championship Series against the Mariners. As in the ALDS, the Jayhawks will use 13 pitchers and 13 position players, although there will be several new additions to the pitching staff. Full list…

catcher: Alejandro Kirk, Tyler Heineman
Infielder: Addison Barger, Ernie Clement, Andres Jimenez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Isaiah Keener-Falefa
Outfielder: Nathan Lukes, Anthony Santander, Davis Schneider, George Springer, Miles Straw, Dalton Washoe
Left-handed pitcher: Mason Fluharty, Eric Lauer, Brendan Little
Right-hand pitcher: Chris Bassett, Sean Bieber, Serantoni Dominguez, Brayden Fisher, Kevin Gausman, Jeff Hoffman, Ariel Rodriguez, Max Scherzer, Louis Wallander, Trey Yesavich

Starting with the most glaring omission from the list, Beau Bichette Still unavailable because the shortstop has yet to fully recover from a sprained left knee that has kept him sidelined since Sept. 6. Bichette didn’t start any running drills until last Wednesday, but didn’t make much progress yesterday with a higher-intensity run on the bases. Even after this brief practice, Bichette looked visibly uncomfortable, raising questions about whether he was indeed healthy enough to be activated.

Since Bichette has been able to take batting practice and face live at-bats, there has been speculation that the Blue Jays could use Bichette in a DH role or even as a pinch-hitter specialist. Of course, even with limited ability, Bichette will have to run in some form if he ends up taking the hit, and yesterday’s footage means Bichette’s knee is far from 100 percent.

There’s more to come…