Update announced on the Toronto Blue Jays current negotiations with Bo Bichette
Photo credit: The Globe and Mail
The Toronto Blue Jays took care of business last Monday locking up their franchise cornerstone, officially unveiling Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s 14-year, $500 million contract during a press conference in Toronto.
Contract talks between the Toronto Blue Jays and star shortstop Bo Bichette are no way near to reaching an agreement.
With their biggest cornerstone now locked in long-term, the Blue Jays may soon turn their focus to another key part of their lineup: shortstop Bo Bichette. The 27-year-old is set to hit unrestricted free agency after this season, and according to ESPN's Buster Olney, both Bichette and the team are open to letting the year unfold before determining his potential market value.
Here's what ESPN MLB insider Buster Olney had to say on TSN Radio on Wednesday.
"Everybody is punting to get to a point where you can place a better value on Bo Bichette. As we talked about in the past, coming off of last year's disastrous year, the Blue Jays are not going to make an aggressive offer.
And if you're Bo Bichette you don't want to be given an offer off that terrible year. Both sides really need more time." -Olney
And if you're Bo Bichette you don't want to be given an offer off that terrible year. Both sides really need more time." -Olney
Bichette is bouncing back after the worst season of his career, where he hit just .225 with four home runs, 31 RBIs, and a .598 OPS over 81 games. So far this year, he's looked much sharper, batting .297 with 10 RBIs in 17 games and boosting his OPS to .711. While that's a step up from 2024, it still falls short of his career average OPS of .826 from his first five seasons in the majors.
According to Olney, Guerrero's extension has eased the pressure on Toronto's front office to get a deal done with Bichette right away.
«Bo is obviously off to a good start. You would think given his history that he would be able to continue this, but we'll see. I told you my instinct was that the signing of Vladdy took a lot of pressure off the Blue Jays in terms of also signing Bichette.
I ran that past a bunch of executives from other teams and they agreed. Once you get Vladimir Guerrero Jr. under contract with that monster deal, and Bo Bichette walks out the door, it's not like your fans are going to revolt.»
Olney believes that Bichette will play next year outside of Toronto and Bichette said last week that no offer is currently on the table. Although general manager Ross Atkins says the team's vision is 'for them to continue to play together'.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 17 | 4195 ANSWERS Update announced on the Toronto Blue Jays current negotiations with Bo Bichette Do you think star shortstop Bo Bichette will resign with the Blue Jays? | ||
| yes | 2840 | 67.7 % |
| no | 1355 | 32.3 % |
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