Blue Jays Have Competition To Keep Guerrero Jr. And Bichette Together

Bo Bichette and Vlad Guerrero Jr. have been together at every step of their development in the Toronto Blue Jays organization.

Bichette and Guerrero Jr. both began the intensive part of their professional baseball development playing together for Dunedin and Lansing in 2017.

Their paths took them through Double-A New Hampshire, Triple-A Buffalo, and ultimately, to the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Bichette and Guerrero Jr. are in lockstep in their career progression.

Guerrero Jr., who just had a mammoth postseason for the Blue Jays, has signed a 14-year, $500M contract to remain with the Blue Jays until 2039.

The right-handed hitting Guerrero Jr. is still only 26-years-old.

Guerrero Jr. has a full no-trade clause in his contract. There is no opt-out clause, and no deferred money in the agreement.

Guerrero Jr. will be a Blue Jay for the remainder of his career.

Right-handed hitting Bo Bichette, 27, has completed the final year of a three-year Blue Jays contract, that paid him $33.6M from 2023-thru 2025.

Bichette is now a free agent.

The Blue Jays have a serious decision to make regarding Bichette.

The Blue Jays came thisclose to winning the 2025 World Series.

But for a few remarkable performances by Los Angeles Dodgers players, the Blue Jays played well enough to win the World Championship.

Two focal points of the Blue Jays success in the postseason were Guerrero Jr., and Bichette.

World Series Juggernauts:

Here are Guerrero’s offensive statistics for the 2025 postseason:

American League Division Series-.529/550/1.059/.1.609, with three homers, and nine RBIs in 20 plate appearances against the New York Yankees.

American League Championship Series-.385/.484/.846/.1.330, with three doubles, three homers, and three RBIs in 31 plate appearances against the Seattle Mariners.

World Series-.333/.474/.600/.1.074, with two doubles, three homers and three RBIs in 30 plate appearances. He also walked eight times in the series, against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

A serious knee sprain ended Bichette’s regular season in mid-September.

Bichette did not play in the postseason, until the World Series.

Here is what he provided the Blue Jays in the seven-game World Series classic:

.348/.444/.478/.923, with one home run, and six RBIs.

Bichette had some huge hits to keep rallies going, or provide momentum to the Blue Jays.

Bichette’s Future:

The 2025 qualifying offer to free agents has increased 4.6%. The new figure will be $22.025,000, up from $21.05 million.

It is highly likely Bichette will reject the qualifying he received from the Blue Jays, as he will seek a long-term contract with a potential value in the range of $220M for eight years.

While not quite in the neighborhood of his teammate Vlad Guerrero Jr., Bichette will still be handsomely compensated.

To this old scout, his best future opportunities will come with his current team-the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays are on the periphery of World Series greatness.

If they can keep their team together, they may be able to make up the one game deficit they experienced against the Dodgers.

Bichette would be a huge part of the team’s future.

While he has played shortstop in his career, his physicality and lack of range due to injuries project Bichette to be a second baseman moving forward.

Bichette played second in the World Series, with Platinum Glove second baseman, Andres Gimenez moving to shortstop.

That combination worked find for the seven-game World Series.

It could work again for years and years going forward.

Suitors For Bichette:

This old scout predicts several teams to be heavily interested in signing Bichette to a long-term contract. As a second baseman.

Toronto Blue Jays=his current team, and one that is capable of meeting his salary and contract terms

New York Yankees-=in need of another bat and another solid infielder, the Yankees make sense as the try to close the gap in the standings with the Blue Jays

Detroit Tigers=If indeed, the Tigers lose Tarik Skubal to free agency, a boost in their offense in the middle-infield could help ease the pain. They need to score more runs, and may be able to afford Bichette.

Los Angeles Dodgers= Why not the Dodgers? They are “in” on every major free agent, and another middle-infielder, especially one that can play second base may work.

San Francisco Giants= The Giants always fish in the deepest free agent ponds. If they landed Bichette, they would markedly improve a weak offense. And it seems they have the money to spend. He could torch the outfield gaps.

Boston Red Sox=Like the Yankees, they want to narrow the gap in the American League East. They could use a bat like Bichette’s in the middle of their lineup. Especially at second base

This scout’s prediction:

Toronto Blue Jays