Report: Blue Jays, Bo Bichette haven’t discussed contract extension

Shortstop Bo Bichette and the Toronto Blue Jays have yet to discuss a contract extension for the pending free agent, the 26-year-old said Friday at the organization’s player development complex in Florida.

Bichette is slated to enter free agency after this season, as will fellow franchise cornerstone Vladimir Guerrero Jr. But while the front office has been negotiating a long-term deal involving the latter over the last several months, it’s been more or less radio silence for his long-time friend — who’s a two-time All-Star and one of baseball’s premier shortstops when healthy.

“No, we haven’t had any talks,” Bichette revealed to reporters Friday in Dunedin, including MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson, “but from my perspective, we all grow up wanting to be one of those guys that has an opportunity to stay with an organization for their entire career. I’m just focused on what I’ve got to do this year to help the team win and be the best version of myself. Whatever happens will happen.”

Last September, Bichette said his “ultimate goal” was to team up with Guerrero forever and continue hunting for a World Series championship in Toronto. It was the first time he had openly expressed a desire to remain with the franchise beyond the 2025 campaign, pouring cold water on circulating rumours regarding his interest in re-signing with the club — or lack thereof.

Despite those comments, the former two-time AL batting title champion’s horrendous 2024 campaign, plagued by multiple calf injuries and a broken finger, meant finding common ground involving a contract extension this off-season would be extremely unlikely.

Bichette wasn’t himself last season, slumping to a career-worst .225/.277/.322 slash line across only 81 games, the fewest of his career — excluding the 2020 season — since debuting with the Blue Jays in ’19. He only went deep four times, snapping a streak of three consecutive campaigns featuring at least 20 home runs, while his wRC+ finished 29 per cent below league average (100).

But now that he’s fully healthy again, Bichette remains focused on winning, helping to lead this team to a playoff berth after last year’s disastrous result, and doing it alongside a fellow franchise icon.

“Vladdy is one of my best friends. We’ve had tons of conversations like that,” Bichette said. “We’ve talked about playing together forever since he was 18 and I was 19. That’s still a goal of ours.”

A return-to-form performance in 2025 would be significant, both for Bichette and Toronto. It would give this offence — which added a middle-of-the-order threat in Anthony Santander — another reliable force, creating a three-headed horse between himself, Santander and Guerrero in the top half of the lineup.

The potential impact of his resurgence would stretch beyond this season, too. Recapturing the type of hitter he was from 2021-23, where he totalled 13.6 fWAR and compiled a 125 wRC+ over those three seasons, would prove he’s still capable of performing at an elite level heading into his free-agent years.

As someone who’ll turn 27 next month, he’d cement himself as one of the “very exciting players” this franchise hopes to continue building around for many years to come, as general manager Ross Atkins said Thursday.

Bichette is betting on himself this season. He has a chance to become the sport’s latest $200-million shortstop — or even $300-million with his youth — if he enjoys a bounce-back campaign. Whether or not he receives such a lucrative contract from the Blue Jays remains to be seen, though.

They have, however, shown to be on the same page before, as both sides agreed to buy out his remaining arbitration years with a three-year, $33.6-million deal in February 2023.