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With Bo Bichette having a dreadful year and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. having virtually a career year, the once-daunting free agency decisions the Toronto Blue Jays were to have to make seem to be getting easier. Bichette is trending down and Guerrero Jr. is trending up.
However, Bichette desires to be teammates with his fellow infielder forever. The Blue Jays star shortstop reflected on his future as he began rehabbing to rejoin the MLB team, and this was a sentiment he expressed.
“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. I'm 100 percent committed to doing whatever it takes to accomplish those things. That's where I'm at,” he said via Sportsnet.
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Guerrero Jr. has one more arbitration year before unrestricted free agency. Bichette doesn't have arbitration but will also hit free agency in 2026. The Blue Jays would be hard-pressed to sign both to the presumably large and lengthy contracts they could command on the open market.
Blue Jays expected to try to extend Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
While there's a year before Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hits free agency, it is expected that the Toronto Blue Jays will forego that and try to lock him down this winter. This comes after a down year in which the infielder was subject to trade rumors.
The Jays opted to keep him, and according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, they plan to for a long time:
"The Blue Jays are again expected to try to lock up superstar first baseman/third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. this winter, and though they have a better shot with Guerrero than co-star Bo Bichette, they will need to step up efforts to keep Guerrero, who's in great shape and back to near MVP level."
Guerrero Jr. is second in the MLB in batting average this year and has 28 home runs. He's played his way into a higher price tag in all likelihood.
