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The Toronto Blue Jays are playing their final three-game series of the 2018 season this weekend in Tampa. TSN Baseball Reporter Scott Mitchell checks in with news and notes on the Jays:

Thomas Pannone finished off his season with a dud Friday night to open the Blue Jays’ final series of the year in Tampa, scattering seven hits and allowing five earned runs over 5.1 innings, taking a liner off his leg in the process.

Pannone stayed in the game after being hit by a comebacker off the bat of Mallex Smith in the fifth inning, but the final results weren’t what the 24-year-old lefty was hoping for.

It ends a trying year for Pannone, who was suspended in March for 80 games after a positive steroid test, and then finally worked his way back into the rotation conversation in August.

Overall, Pannone finishes the season with a 4.19 ERA in 43 innings at the major-league level, but his FIP of 5.11 says there may have been some luck involved.

A suppressed .234 batting average on balls in play tells the same story.

Pannone will battle for a spot at the back of the rotation next spring.

Bichette won’t take part in Arizona Fall League

The grind of 131 regular-season games, the most he’s played in any one season, took a toll on Bo Bichette.

After helping the New Hampshire Fisher Cats to a Double-A Eastern League championship, Bichette was pulled from the Arizona Fall League’s Surprise Saguaros roster due to “minor elbow and knee soreness,” according to Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins.

While there’s always a chance he could be added midway through the AFL schedule, the rest seems more important than a handful of extra at-bats at this point and the Jays will allow the 20-year-old’s body to recover this fall instead.

The wear and tear didn’t seem to affect him too much, as he hit .339 with an .876 OPS in the month of August.

Bichette finished his second full professional season with a .286/.343/.453 slash line, adding 11 home runs and 32 steals in 595 plate appearances.

Replacing Bichette on the Saguaros’ roster alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Cavan Biggio and Nate Pearson is middle infielder Santiago Espinal, who was acquired from the Boston Red Sox in June in exchange for Steve Pearce.

In 59 games in the Blue Jays organization split between High-A and Double-A, the 23-year-old Espinal hit .278 with three homers.

Latest knee injury not worrying Travis

Devon Travis left the clubhouse Wednesday night with a smile on his face after undergoing an MRI on his left knee.

Shut down for the season due to lingering knee and hamstring soreness as the team awaited the imaging results, Travis said it wasn’t a big issue and he doesn’t believe it’ll disturb too much of his off-season.

Travis has undergone surgery on his right knee twice over the past two years, so you can understand if an issue with his other knee would make the 27-year-old a bit nervous.

Even though he stayed mostly healthy this season, Travis hit just .186 over his final 26 games and finishes with a muted .232/.275/.381 slash line in 103 games, the most he’s ever played in a single season.

Concussions can’t keep Berti from majors

John Gibbons’ farewell stole the show Wednesday, but Jon Berti’s major-league debut is a story of perseverance.

After eight seasons, 856 minor-league games, and three concussions sustained over a three-year period from 2015-17, Berti got an unexpected call with Travis and Lourdes Gurriel banged up.

Berti was immediately inserted into the lineup and collected his first MLB hit, before finding himself in the lineup again Friday in the series opener in Tampa.

Once again, the 28-year-old contributed, knocking in a pair of runs in the sixth inning with a double.

While Berti’s stay on the 40-man roster likely won’t be long, even Gibbons noted that the cameo may open a door for him down the road.

Urena quietly producing to finish out September

You won’t hear his name much when constructing rosters for 2019 and beyond, but Richard Urena is making the most of his September at-bats.

While his prospect stock has fallen over the past couple of years and there’s a ton of middle infield talent on the way, Urena banged out three more hits Friday to push his average to .304 in 100 plate appearances this season.

Urena won’t turn 23 until next February, but with a number of 40-man roster decisions coming this winter it will be interesting to see if the Blue Jays front office deems him worthy of a spot.​