There is a huge buzz around Toronto, given the playoff baseball excitement. The businesses are making huge profits, and the people are out and about to book tickets to the Toronto Blue Jays games and more. You’d expect that it would be a picture-perfect October they are looking at. But rather, panic has crept into the city.

Just hours before the Jays begin their American League Division Series against the Yankees, manager John Schneider had news to deliver that, honestly, Jays fans didn’t anticipate and maybe didn’t need, given it’s making them anxious. Three of their team’s biggest names won’t be suiting up to play against the New York Yankees!

Bo Bichette, the heartbeat of Toronto’s infield and one of the most reliable bats, won’t be in the picture. He is out with a left knee sprain, and that has him immobilized, and this is simply grim. Given that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is not the player most thought he was this season, the team was relying on Bichette the most. But even that seems out of the picture now.

Along with him, even Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt won’t make it into the cut. Scherzer has been struggling through an extremely rough September and has a 10.20 ERA in four starts. And this is simply not going to work against a team that’s been nothing but hot last month. Chris Bassitt has also been shelved due to a back inflammation. These are the three pillars of the team, and they are not here, and the timing couldn’t be much worse.

Schneider went with balance, though—13 pitchers and 13 position players. Eric Lauer, who is usually a starter, will be in a long relief role, and rookie southpaw Mason Fluharty will get his first playoff pressure. Even then, the lineup is not stripped, given Toronto has a deep outfield and infield mix, a major reason they won 94 games. But the margin for error is 0!

Toronto Blue Jays fans are nervous about the missing players

Fans are feeling that sting of Bo Bichette’s absence. One user mentioned, “Where’s Bo?” And sure, Toronto will miss their star shortstop for the series, in fact, even Vladdy came out to say he will miss Bo too. But right now, Anthony Santander is coming off an injury to help fill the gap. And though his 2025 numbers were rough (.175/.271/.294 in 54 games), the playoffs give everyone a clean slate. On the mound, the Jays have some hope; Kevin Gausman takes on Game 1, and Shane Bieber will follow most likely.

Fans are not happy, a blunt reaction by a fan: “This is horrific… No Scherzer? No Bassitt? Ridiculous.” Now, honestly, the Toronto Blue Jays have left Scherzer off the roster; many suspect due to an injury. But honestly, the team couldn’t rely on him to deliver scoreless innings. He has finished his season with a 5.19 ERA in 17 starts. And his final six outings were bad—9.00 ERA over 25 innings, giving up 37 hits and eight homers. So the team has no confidence that he can contribute at this moment.

“No, Chris Bassitt is interesting,” said a user on X. And well, it certainly is an eyebrow raiser that Bassitt is being left off the roster. But the right-hander has been sidelined since September 20. He clearly needs more time to recover. Not just him, but also Jose Berrios, who has been dealing with right elbow inflammation since September, is looking at an even longer recovery time. Now with both starters unavailable, the Jays are forced to navigate the postseason sans key arms. What’s most shocking is that Justin Bruihl is here over Max Scherzer and Bassitt!

A fan questioned, “Gaus, Bieber, Yesavage, Gaus Bieber? As the starters?​​” Well, the Blue Jays’ rotation will be pared down to Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, and rookie Trey Yesavage, who is only 22 years old. With Eric Lauer or Yariel Rodriguez possibly coming in as swingmen. But yes, the team is heading into the postseason shorthanded, and they have to face the Yankees team with some stellar talent. Gausman, meanwhile, will kick things off in Game 1 coming off a 10-11 season with a 3.59 ERA, and Luis Gil will counter for New York after making a strong return from a lat injury.

Venting out that Bichette is sitting out, one user said, “$15 million to sit at home… what the f***.” But even with their cornerstone out of the roster, don’t expect anything less from the team, to be honest. Because the Yankees will not take the Jays lightly, given that Toronto entered the year with modest expectations, and yet they claimed the home-field advantage in the ALDS. Even the judge praised them for the Yankee wild card win, saying, “They’re a complete team… they’re going to force your hand on defense. We’re looking forward to that. Toronto is going to be rocking. We love that.” Ryan McMahon echoed the sentiment: “They’re a good ball club… We got our work cut out for us.”

So even though the Jays fans feel that with key players out, they might be doomed, the reality might be far from that.