Few teams, if any, have had a more frustrating 2024 campaign than the Toronto Blue Jays who entered the season with postseason aspirations only to be sellers at the trade deadline and out of contention for much of the year.
Many are to blame for Toronto’s collapse, but one clear culprit is Bo Bichette, a two-time All-Star who has had a lost season. Not only has he missed substantial time due to injury, but his production has fallen off a cliff in a major way.
The 26-year-old has been limited to just 80 games, and in those contests, has slashed .222/.275/.320 with four home runs and 30 RBI. This is a player who entered the year as a .299 career hitter, averaging 21 home runs per full season (excluding 2020). Quite the drop-off.
His and the team’s poor play combined with the fact that he’s set to hit free agency at the end of the 2025 season brought his name into trade rumors at the deadline. While he was never dealt, the possibility of him going elsewhere this offseason, next deadline, or even next offseason as a free agent feels very real.
What’s scary about Bichette leaving is that his friend and teammate, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., is also set to hit free agency at the end of the 2025 campaign. The Jays won’t want him to leave, but what if they have another down year in 2025? The possibility of them being elsewhere is very real. Just listen to what Bichette’s long-term goal is.
“When I had time to think about what I want, basically, my ultimate goal really is to play with Vladdy (Guerrero Jr.) forever, to win a championship with him and to do that with this organization,” the two-time all-star shortstop said during an interview at Truist Park before heading out for a rehab assignment with triple-A Buffalo that starts Tuesday. “I’m 100 per cent committed to doing whatever it takes to accomplish those things. That’s where I’m at.”
Bo Bichette’s long-term goal could backfire on Blue Jays in way they could never see coming
Bichette wants to be with Guerrero long-term and would love to do it with the Blue Jays (contrary to popular belief), the only organization either one of them already knows, but what if they left together?
The Jays have known for years now that both of these young stars are set to hit free agency after the 2025 campaign, yet they haven’t agreed to or even come close to an extension with either player.
Letting Guerrero go after the MVP-caliber year he’s had in 2024 would be a major mistake, but every passing day his price increases. How far would the Blue Jays be willing to go to keep Guerrero around if they haven’t done it by now?
Chances are, at least one of them will be extended at some point — it’d be such a bad look if both of them departed, especially if it was in free agency and especially if they ended up on the same team elsewhere.
We know Bichette wants to play with Guerrero, but we don’t know whether the Blue Jays want both back long-term. The longer they wait to ink even one of these players to an extension, the more likely it is that this could happen, which would be nothing short of disastrous for Toronto.
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