TORONTO, ON – MAY 29: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. #27 of Toronto Blue Jays looks on from the dugout ahead of playing the Athletics in their MLB game at the Rogers Centre on May 29, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images)
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Last year, the Toronto Blue Jays reaped the benefits of a draft and development plan that produced two young superstar players.
After years of improving together in the Blue Jays’ system, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette led the team to its most successful season in decades and just one win short of a World Series championship. But shortly after reaching extra innings of Game 7 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Blue Jays have restructured their roster around Guerrero while allowing Bichette to leave for a new contract from the New York Mets.
“Bichette has agreed to a three-year, $126 million deal with the Mets, another short-term, big-money deal that lands one day after Kyle Tucker signed a four-year, $240 million deal with the (Los Angeles) Dodgers,” Keegan Matheson wrote for MLB.com. “For so many Blue Jays fans, the mind may have wanted Tucker, but the heart wanted Bichette.”
Toronto Blue Jays Are Moving On From Bo Bichette
Though the Blue Jays have officially lost Bichette, they did bring in frontline starter Dylan Cease, Japanese star Kazuma Okamoto and several other win-now players. So the team and the fans should be able to move on as they pursue another World Series berth next year.
And Guerrero evidently took the loss in stride as he shared his thoughts on Bichette’s decision to join the Mets shortly after it was announced.
“Of course, I feel sad after playing with him for so many years, but like I’ve always said, this is a business and you have to look out for what’s best for you and your family,” Guerrero told Blue Jays broadcaster Hazel Mae. “We won’t be teammates anymore, but our friendship will last forever.”
Toronto Blue Jays Slugger Has Heartfelt Response For Bo Bichette
Guerrero’s feelings about losing the teammate were summarized in a five-word message:
“I wish him the best,” Guerrero told Mae.
Immediately following the Blue Jays’ heartbreaking World Series loss, both Bichette and Guerrero said they wanted to continue playing together for next season and beyond. The two seemed to be realizing their promise at the same time, as Guerrero earned his fifth straight All-Star nod and Bichette served as Major League Baseball’s total hits leader before going down with an injury at the end of the season.
And fans would have had reason to hope the two could build on their postseason success by winning a championship in the near future. But instead, it looks like the long-time pair will now be pursuing that goal on different teams.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterchawaga/2026/01/18/blue-jays-vladimir-guerrero-jr-sends-5-word-bo-bichette-message-after-mets-news/
