Bo Bichette's injury is a little more serious than the Toronto Blue Jays would've hoped. One day after the Blue Jays said that Bo Bichette avoided any significant structural damage when hurting his knee, the shortstop has been placed on the IL with right patellar tendinitis. The announcement comes one day after Toronto completed a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals for Paul DeJong.

DeJong offers the Blue Jays some immediate insurance for Bichette as he recovers from his knee injury. Toronto's star infielder got hurt while trying to stretch a single into a double in Monday's game against the Baltimore Orioles.

Bichette's IL stint is retroactive to Aug. 1. He'll be eligible to return on Aug. 11.

The DeJong trade initially raised concerns that Bichette's injury might be serious enough to sideline him for several weeks. Shortly after completing the deal, Toronto said that Bichette was day-to-day.

Dejong is hitting .233/.297/.412 with 13 home runs in 81 games this season. While he can provide Toronto with adequate production, the Blue Jays will surely miss Bichette for however long that he's sidelined.

Bichette has been Toronto's best hitter in 2023. His .321 average is the best in the American League, giving him a four-point edge over Yandy Diaz in the race for the AL batting title. Bichette has only missed two of the Blue Jays games this season. The All-Star is leading the league in hits for a third straight year.

After the trade deadline, the Bue Jays are 1.5 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox for the third and final AL wild-card spot.