Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette arrived in Toronto in 2019 to revive the franchise. They were two young stars who had to bring the Blue Jays back to October glory. Now, six years later, the Blue Jays are in the 2025 Division Series with their best chance, but Guerrero has to deal with the weight of the failures on his own.

For Toronto, the 2025 season was a turning point. The Blue Jays went from 74 wins to 94, winning their first AL East title in 10 years and getting the American League’s top seed with a 13-4 win over Tampa Bay on the last day of the season. Guerrero and Bichette, the only two players left from that 2019 rebuild, finally made it past the wild-card round, which had haunted them for three straight sweeps.

Yet Guerrero, who was standing in a champagne-soaked clubhouse with goggles on his head, refused to celebrate too soon. “The job is not finished,” he repeated three times, his focus locked on the unfinished business ahead.

Guerrero still has nightmares about what happened in October.

He remembers lying in the dirt at Target Field in 2023, waving his arms in the air for a challenge after being picked off second base. Bichette stood still in the batter’s box, unable to tie the game. The Jays lost by two runs four innings later. “They’ll stay with me, always,” Guerrero said of the playoff losses. “The only way you can stop thinking about it is to go all the way and win the World Series.”

He can’t stop thinking about that moment in Minnesota because of who was at the plate: The teammate he really wants to win with. “I really felt like Bo was having a good at-bat. He was going to get a base hit that at-bat. We would have tied the game,” Guerrero said through interpreter Hector Lebron.

Bichette has been out since September 6 because of a knee sprain. The shortstop, who had a bad year but bounced back with a .311 average and .840 OPS, hasn’t started running yet. Guerrero hinted at his absence through the Division Series and that his targeted return is still unclear. Bichette does everything he can to come back, hoping Guerrero can take the team far enough to give him another chance.

This postseason may be the last chance for the team to replace painful memories with a pennant, since Bichette is about to become a free agent. “It’s going to be special,” Guerrero remarked. “We’ve been playing together since 2017. There have been a lot of ups and downs, a lot of happiness, a lot of crying, but it would be very special to win a World Series with Bo.”

The Blue Jays are trying to figure out what to do about Bichette’s uncertain status, and they are trying to find a balance between loss and opportunity. While one key player is still out, another piece of their postseason puzzle seems ready to come back.

Blue Jays find silver lining in rotation health

Bichette’s absence makes Toronto’s chances of winning the Division Series look worse, but the Toronto Blue Jays got some good news about their pitching.

Chris Bassitt hasn’t pitched since September 20 because of inflammation in his lower back, but he looks ready to join the rotation again. According to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, Bassitt’s recovery has gone well, which means he could be a useful player in the ALDS. This is the perfect time for a rotation that fell apart at the end of the season when every arm was needed most.

Bassitt pitched well all through 2025, but inflammation cut short his regular season. The right-handed veteran had an 11-9 record in 31 starts, with a 3.96 ERA and 166 strikeouts in 170.1 innings. The Blue Jays had a hard time filling the gap left by his absence during that important last week as they pushed for the division title. Having him back makes the rotation more stable, which it needs for a long run in October.

Manager John Schneider has to make decisions about the rotation before Saturday’s opener. Shane Bieber will probably start Game 1, and Kevin Gausman will follow him in Game 2 after he dominated Tampa Bay in the clinching win. When the series moves to Boston or New York for Games 3 and 4, Bassitt’s experience on the road will be beneficial.

The Blue Jays also have Max Scherzer, Eric Lauer, and rookie Trey Yesavage on their roster, but some of them will probably move to the bullpen to give the team more options.

Toronto has both problems and advantages going into the Division Series. Guerrero’s comments on Wednesday made it clear that Bichette probably won’t be available, which would hurt the offense. But the Blue Jays get a break because Boston and New York are playing three exhausting wild-card games against each other. The team that wins might be tired and short on pitching, but Toronto will stay fresh by playing practice games and getting healthier every day.