Bo Bichette breaks silence on decision to leave Toronto, shares heartfelt message to Blue Jays fans
Photo credit: https://www.mlb.com/mets
When Bo Bichette put on a New York Mets jersey and cap Wednesday afternoon, the reality of his departure truly set in for Toronto Blue Jays fans.
The deal, agreed to last week and officially finalized Tuesday evening - stirred a wave of emotion for a fanbase that experienced every high and low alongside Bichette during his seven seasons in Toronto.
Sportsnet's Shi Davidi spoke with the newly minted Met at Citi Field, where Bichette opened up on the relationships he left behind in Toronto.
«Vladdy is a brother for life, a friend for life, always love him and value our friendship,» Bichette told Davidi in the Mets' media room. «Me and the Blue Jays were in touch all off-season. They showed interest. But at the end of the day, it just became clear for me that this was the decision that I needed to make.»
Sportsnet's Hazel passed along a heartfelt message from Bichette to Blue Jays fans on social media.
Passing along a message from 2x All Star, Bo Bichette:
Blue Jays remained active in Bichette's market throughout the offseason
According to Davidi, Bichette's agent, Greg Genske of Vayner Sports, confirmed that meetings took place with both Mets president David Stearns and owner Steve Cohen, as well as Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins, during November's GM Meetings.
Discussions with Toronto remained active throughout the offseason, maintaining what Genske described as «a very healthy, ongoing dialogue.»
As the process unfolded, Bichette ultimately had multiple options available, including both short- and long-term offers from several teams.
«But throughout the process, the Mets really emerged as a team that combined everything Bo was looking for - a team that was really committed to winning, the opportunity to come play in New York - and it really just came together from there,» Genske explained. «His decision was really more of a statement about the Mets and their organization, Mr. (Steve) Cohen and David Stearns and how they handled things, than it was about the other several teams that were involved in Bo's market.»
Davidi also notes that Bichette's departure highlights the risk teams face when they don't secure elite talent early in a player's career, missing the chance to buy out future free-agent years before a player reaches peak value.
Now 27, Bichette spent his entire professional career with the Blue Jays after being selected in the second round of the 2016 MLB Draft.
Over seven MLB seasons, he posted a .294 career batting average, launched 111 home runs, drove in 437 runs, and earned All-Star selections in 2021 and 2023.
«I'll only have fond memories of my time with the Blue Jays. I'll only have fond memories with the fans,» Bichette said. «They supported me so much through so much. And I'll also remember my first at-bat in the World Series, where they had my back and they believed in me after not playing for that long and were supporting me through that. I was open to (returning) and we had conversations throughout the off-season, but it just didn't pan out.»
The result is rather than trying to help the Blue Jays back to the World Series for another shot at the Dodgers, or another club, he'll instead be helping the Mets try to take down the back-to-back world champion Dodgers, a uniquely intertwined crossroads of baseball's big spenders.
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| POLL | ||
JANVIER 21|201 ANSWERS Bo Bichette breaks silence on decision to leave Toronto, shares heartfelt message to Blue Jays fans Will the Toronto Blue Jays regret not brining back Bo Bichette? | ||
| Yes | 73 | 36.3 % |
| No | 93 | 46.3 % |
| Too early to tell | 35 | 17.4 % |
| List of polls | ||