Photo credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
The Toronto Blue Jays were holding their breath, as their AL East rival Boston Red Sox were getting closer and closer to landing Bo Bichette, but they have shockingly pulled out of the race for the star shortstop.
The Blue Jays have shown less urgency than expected with Bichette, as Ross Atkins gave a vague update on the situation during his press conference this week
Red Sox no longer pursuing Bo Bichette.
Matthew Sookram of Jays Journal reported on the recent falling out between the Red Sox and Bichette, it appears that Bichette's value has just gone too high for the Red Sox, which is good and bad news for the Blue Jays.
" Blue Jays fans can take that in two ways. One, they can breath a sigh of relief that the home grown star player won't end up playing for a division rival. Two, they may be concerned about what exactly Bichette's market is, and are the Blue Jays still within those parameters?"-Sookram
The Red Sox were the real favorite to land Bichette other than the Blue Jays, meaning there probably isn't another team really close to landing him but all of that can change rather quickly and the Blue Jays shouldn't procrastinate their negotiations with him.
"Bichette's "market" could mean that the Red Sox aren't willing to reach his asking price. Ahead of the Winter Meetings, The Athletic's Jim Bowden speculated that Bichette would sign a seven-year $189 million deal. If that is indeed in line with what Bichette is going to get, it feels like a relatively reasonable market deal, compared to Bichette's contemporaries."-Sookram
Bichette's injury history has fluctuated his value greatly, it's hard to gauge where the number sits right now.
Making it hard to predict if he can even land with the Blue Jays, again it all goes back to what happens with Tucker, signing him would leave little room for Bichette with the Blue Jays, but deciding between two superstars isn't as bad as it sounds.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 11|741 ANSWERS Major change announced in the Red Sox pursuit of Bo Bichette Is Bo Bichette asking for too much for the Toronto Blue Jays or any other team to pay? | ||
| Yes | 413 | 55.7 % |
| No | 328 | 44.3 % |
| List of polls | ||