Likelihood of free agent Bo Bichette remaining with Toronto Blue Jays is questionable
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
The Toronto Blue Jays have already shown they aren't messing around this offseason.
The Blue Jays have already made a big free agency splash by signing two-time All-Star Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million contract.
If you ask most Blue Jays fans what the next logical step would be, they'll probably tell you that locking up Bo Bichette should be Ross Atkin's next move.
What are the chances free agent Bichette will remain with the Blue Jays?
MLB.com's Keegan Matheson recently analyzed why Bichette will return to Toronto as well as why he may leave in free agency.
Bichette has said all along that he wants to stay in Toronto, writes Matheson. He wants to remain with the organization that drafted him in 2016 and developed him into an All-Star.
He wants to play alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr., his longtime friend and co-star. Sentimentality only gets you so far, but the Blue Jays clearly hold some level of a «tiebreaker» here with Bichette if everything else is even.
This organization needs another big bat in the middle of the lineup, too, and who better than Bichette, whose three-run home run off Shohei Ohtani in Game 7 of the World Series was nearly an era-defining moment?
Shohei Ohtani intentionally walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to get to Bo Bichette. And he hit a three run blast:
The interest here is mutual and the player fits a clear need, making this a sensible reunion on all fronts, even when you put emotion to the side.
Bo Bichette's free agent market outside of Toronto is vast and will command top dollar
The argument that Bichette will leave to play for more money somewhere else is also valid.
Money matters, and while Toronto could hold a tiebreaker in a tight bidding war, that sentimentality isn't going to be enough to make up for any significant financial gap once his market finally flourishes.
Bichette's market will have a wide gap between its ceiling and its floor, writes Matheson. Some clubs will view Bichette as a second baseman and point to his declining baserunning and athleticism.
Other clubs will accept that his offensive upside is enough to cover up some defensive shortcomings and still consider him a shortstop.
The Blue Jays have said publicly that they're open to Bichette playing short, but it's clear that Andrés Giménez could be a Gold Glover at that position if Bichette plays second.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 30 | 505 ANSWERS Likelihood of free agent Bo Bichette remaining with Toronto Blue Jays is questionable Do you think the Blue Jays will match or exceed any contract offer by other clubs? | ||
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