Sometimes, fans just have to tip their caps to players who perform at a very high level when it matters most. For Bo Bichette of the Toronto Blue Jays, that’s been seen in multiple ways.
Not only do the Blue Jays need Bichette to continue playing this way as they head into the final month of the regular season and the playoffs, but Bichette needs to continue swinging it because he’s set to hit the free agency market at the end of the winter.
How Much Would Bo Bichette Cost Blue Jays?
The only question the Toronto Blue Jays will have to figure out with Bichette is how much they’re willing to pay him. If that price exceeds $150 million, the Blue Jays could be in a different position than they expected to be just a few months ago.
However, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN, it sounds like there’s even a chance that Bichette could get $280 million on the free agency market.
If that number starts creeping up to $300 million, there are certainly questions about where the star shortstop will land, as only a select number of teams can realistically offer him that amount.
Don’t get it twisted, however, as the Blue Jays are certainly one of them.
“So why are there questions about Bichette’s value? Every publicly available defensive metric has him as the worst defensive shortstop in baseball. Same goes for three teams surveyed independently. And considering top shortstops tend to get more than $250 million in free agency, position — and the ability to stay at a premium one — can be the difference between joining that echelon and falling short…
“Whatever position Bichette mans, wherever he plays, he is a hitter in an era with far too few. Maybe he’s not a $300 million player. But if Turner is worth $300 million and Xander Bogaerts is worth $280 million and both were at least two years older than Bichette when they did sign, surely the market won’t leave him high and dry,” he wrote.
A 360 Shift From Bo Bichette?
Just a few months ago, many questioned what Bichette’s market would look like for the Toronto Blue Jays. Some even thought that the Blue Jays would try to trade him, and rightfully so, as he just wasn’t swinging the bat at an even average level for much of the past year at that point. Fast forward to the beginning of September, and Bichette is leading the American League in hits once again.
According to Buster Olney of ESPN, he’s put himself in a great position to get paid and has reminded teams around the league why he’s as highly touted as he’s been throughout his career.
“He’s setting himself up in a big way because he’s reminding us that when he gets on one of those heaters, there’s nothing he can’t hit and will be one of the most productive guys on any team’s lineup,” Olney told TSN1050’s “First Up” on September 3. “Early in the season, we were asking what his free agency would look like and how teams look at him and it was fairly stark. He wasn’t someone who was going to impress people when he gets to the open market in the fall.”
Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette Gets $280 Million Update Amid Hot Stretch for Toronto