Bo Bichette is back, making the Blue Jays a better team at multiple positions as they gear up for the stretch run.

Bichette has been on the injured list for nearly a month with a right knee sprain, but he ramped up recently at the club’s alternate training site in Rochester, N.Y., by participating in live games. Now that the budding star is back at shortstop, the Toronto adds arguably its best bat back into the lineup.

A fierce competitor, watching from the bleachers hasn’t been easy for Bichette. He’s a player who wants to play all 162 games in a standard season and wanted to play all 60 in this one, but even with the frustration, he loves what he’s seen from his teammates, who have kept the Blue Jays on a path to the postseason.

“They’ve been playing amazing,” Bichette said. “They’ve been fighting every night and winning a lot of close games. As much as I wanted to be a part of it, it was just as much fun to watch it and see how they competed over the past four weeks.”

With Bichette back at short, Toronto can use Cavan Biggio in the outfield more liberally, given the versatility of Joe Panik, Santiago Espinal and Jonathan Villar. Those latter three players can be used situationally late in games or moved around the diamond, giving manager Charlie Montoyo plenty of options.

Prior to hitting the injured list, Bichette was tearing the cover off the ball, hitting .361 with a 1.063 OPS, including five home runs and four stolen bases in just 14 games. He’s not making any excuses as he returns, but the realities of rehabbing in 2020 are drastically different with no Minor League games to break in with.

He’ll also need to get back up to speed while in the middle of a playoff race, which is new to many players on this young roster that went 67-95 last season.

“I’ve never been a part of one,” Bichette said. “I’ll go out there and play as hard as I can, just like those guys have been every single day. Like I’ve been saying all along, we’re going to go out there and play hard and see what happens, control what we can control. This should be fun.”

No member of the Blue Jays is happier than Bichette that he’s back at shortstop, but Montoyo might be close. Beyond Bichette’s numbers, he’s the heartbeat of this team when he’s playing his best baseball.

“He leads by example. This guy plays the game the right way,” Montoyo said. “He’s always pulling for his teammates, and to me, that’s a leader. That’s what he does. Whatever he does in the game, he’s always pulling for the next guy. I wish you could see him in the dugout.”

In a corresponding move, right-hander Jacob Waguespack was optioned back to the alternate training site to make room on the 28-man active roster.

Giles ramping up for playoffs
Friday’s return of Ken Giles was a major addition for the Blue Jays after the star closer went down in the first series of the season with a right forearm strain. The 18-1 blowout loss to the Mets at least afforded Toronto the opportunity to give him a low-leverage inning, which he started by allowing a home run, but he eventually cleaned it up.

Results don’t matter as much right now, but they will very soon as Giles works back into the ninth-inning role. He averaged 95.2 mph with his fastball on Friday, according to Statcast, leaving a bit of velocity to be found to reach his 2019 average of 96.9 mph, but he fully expects to have his best stuff by the postseason.

“Once those days come, I should be fully ready to go and hitting my stride,” Giles said. “That’s what I’m looking forward to right now.”

Injury updates
• Teoscar Hernández (mild oblique strain) hit off a tee on Saturday and he appears to be ahead of initial expectations, but there is still no timeline for his return. The Blue Jays won’t push it, but given the breakout season Hernández was enjoying, his potential return is one of the biggest stories surrounding this team over the final two weeks.

• Rowdy Tellez (strained right knee) rode the stationary bike on Saturday, but he is expected to be further off than Hernández and no timeline has been established for his return.