Ty

France

Those two are joined by Steven Kwan in the outfield. Other AL winners include pitcher Max Fried, catcher Dillon Dingler, first baseman Ty France, second baseman Marcus Semien, third baseman Maikel Garcia, shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and utilityman Mauricio Dubón. Semien getting the nod over Andrés Giménez seems like the biggest upset, though Giménez, who won the previous three years, did miss a bunch of time. Dingler over Alejandro Kirk also rates as a modest surprise.

The 27-year-old has been shelved since early September due to a left knee sprain. It sounds like he’s still not 100 percent and it’ll be interesting to see how he’s deployed — whether it’s strictly as a designated hitter or if the Jays will slide him over to second base — but it sounds like they’ll have his bat at their disposal as they kick off the Fall Classic on Friday night against the Dodgers. Ty France was also added to the Jays’ roster for the World Series while Joey Loperfido and Yariel Rodriguez were removed.

Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt (back) are also absent from Toronto’s ALDS roster in favor of additional relief depth. Ty France, who has been battling an oblique issue, was also left off. It’ll be Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber and likely top prospect Trey Yesavage doing the heavy lifting in the best-of-five series. Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Bichette won’t be officially cleared to return until he’s resumed running at full speed and faces some high-velocity pitching again as he continues to recover from a PCL sprain in his left knee that put him on the injured list back in mid-September. The 27-year-old shortstop’s absence should lead to an increased role for switch-hitting slugger Anthony Santander at DH with Ernie Clement taking over at shortstop.

The Jays have been hopeful that France would be ready to rejoin the team for the start of the Division Series and he appears to be making tangible progress in his recovery from a left oblique issue that has shelved him since mid-September. He’ll still need to clear the hurdle of batting against live pitching before he’s ready to return

The 31-year-old infielder continues to work his way back from left oblique inflammation. He isn’t expected to be ready for a Wild Card series, but could be back in time for a Division Series should he be needed. Jays’ manager John Schneider told reporters on Friday that they’ll see where he is in the next four or five days before making a determination on his status for the postseason.

France will miss the final week of the regular season. The 31-year-old has occupied a backup role for Toronto since coming over from the Twins at the trade deadline.

Guerrero missed five starts with a hamstring issue. That he’s DHing tonight means that George Springer is playing the outfield for the first time since coming off the injured list nine days ago. It also means Addison Barger, who has mostly played right field of late, is out of the lineup for a second straight day. Ty France remains in there at first base.

There’s zero incentive for the Blue Jays to take any chances by rushing their primary offensive catalyst back too quickly from a hamstring injury that he suffered earlier this week. The 26-year-old generational talent was able to run the bases and take on-field batting practice earlier this weekend, which seems to suggest he’s close to making it back to the lineup. It’ll be Ty France taking over at the cold corner once again in his absence. There should be a definitive update on his status heading into Monday’s series opener against Minnesota.

Guerrero remains in a holding pattern for the moment as he’s been held out of action since suffering a hamstring injury during Monday’s game against the Pirates. The 26-year-old generational talent underwent a precautionary MRI that didn’t reveal any structural damage. He’s dealing with some lingering inflammation and is presumably day-to-day heading into Sunday’s series finale in Miami. It’s possible he’ll require a trip to the injured list if he’s not progressing well heading into next week. He was able to do some running and take on-field batting practice prior to Friday’s series opener. It’ll be Ty France continuing to handle the cold corner in his absence.

France smacked a two-run single off of Ryan Gusto in the opening inning that extended the Blue Jays’ early lead to 3-0. That would be all the offense that Shane Bieber and company would require in this one. France also singled in the fourth inning but was erased on a double play ball. The 31-year-old first baseman is now hitting .261/.329/.366 with six long balls and 48 RBI on the season.