When is Bo Bichette coming back? Manager John Schneider reveals 2x All-Star will meet Blue Jays on road against Red Sox, expects AAA assignment soon

Bo Bichette is expected to resume baseball activity by the end of August, as per Blue Jays manager John Schneider. The shortstop has been out of action since last month with a calf injury. Schneider gave a detailed breakdown of how Bichette will progress over the week.

Bichette was considered the face of the Blue Jays alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr. But a down year in the penultimate season of his contract with the team has derailed those plans. After hitting no less than .290 and at least 20 home runs in the last three seasons, Bichette has had a terrible run this year with a .223 average in 79 games.

Most of it has been while nursing a calf injury, which immediately led to the player being put on the shelf. After being shut down, the Blue Jays announced that he has started running. As per Schneider on the "Blair and Barker" show, Bichette will join the team in Boston to "ramp up" his rehab work, while a Triple-A game is also on the horizon.

“He started running yesterday down in Florida, and we’ll just continue to ramp that up this week and into the weekend,” Schneider said. “He’s going to meet us in Boston on Monday or Tuesday and continue to kind of ramp up with us, and hopefully goes well and (he’ll) get on the rehab assignment.”

John Schneider discusses lineup variations with Bo Bichette's return

While Bo Bichette has been sidelined, youngster Leo Jimenez has taken up infield responsbilities. Jimenez has divided time between shortstop and second base. Even though he is hitting at .227 and has a high strikeout rate of 32 percent, Jimenez has a DRS of +1 at shorstop. Thus his defensive versatility inside the diamond will help Schneider when Bichette returns.

"You can see Leo at second base; you can see Leo at short with Bichette at DH," the Blue Jays manager said.

With Bichette likely to be traded in the offseason or at the next trade deadline, Jimenez can emerge as an everyday option in the shortstop position.