Bo Bichette hits a double off Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Marcus Stroman in Toronto on Aug. 30, 2022.Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press
Having seen him lead the American League in hits each of the past two seasons, the prospect of Bo Bichette remaining unsigned with spring training around the corner was beginning to induce the kind of clammy terror now associated with a seven-run playoff lead among the Toronto Blue Jays faithful.
While salary arbitration would ultimately have brought Bichette and the team – who were reportedly US$2.5-million apart in proposals – together, the bad blood that can be spilled during that process can often cause rifts, some of which become irreparable schisms.
Any immediate worries were put to bed Thursday after the Blue Jays were able to close out a three-year deal with the star shortstop, with the 24-year-old seemingly content to bet on himself. Bichette hit .290 last season with 24 homers and 93 runs batted in.
“He does have the belief that he will continue to be one of the best players in the game, and so do we,” Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said Friday. “If that weren’t the case, this deal doesn’t happen. These types of deals happen with MVP-calibre players, and we believe that he is an MVP-calibre player and will continue to be.”
While the contract has a bottom line of US$33.6-million, Bichette and his agent will be hoping to activate some of the escalator clauses that have been inserted into the deal. Most notably, the Orlando native earns an extra US$2.25-million in each successive season if he were to fulfill that promise noted by Atkins and win a most-valuable-player award.
He would earn a salary escalator of US$1.25-million for finishing second or third in voting for that award, and US$250,000 for coming fourth or fifth. Bichette finished 12th and 11th in AL MVP voting in 2021 and 2022, respectively, when he led the league each season with 191 and 189 hits, becoming the fastest Blue Jay to reach 450 hits in the process.
“We would be exceptionally happy if he was receiving those accolades and then receiving those escalators,” Atkins said of Bichette, who has a .297 career average, a .340 on-base percentage and 239 RBIs over parts of four major-league seasons.
The deal wraps up the final arbitration case for the club, which signed 11 eligible players before Bichette, highlighted by the US$14-million given to first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for 2023.
Milwaukee Brewers designated hitter Andrew McCutchen is tagged out by Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette while trying to steal second base at American Family Field in Milwaukee on June 24, 2022.Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
The concern for Blue Jays fans will be that this deal takes Bichette through his arbitration seasons right to the front door of free agency following the 2025 campaign. Barring a long-term extension, Guerrero is also trending in that direction.
But then that’s all part of the risk in professional sports. For Atkins, sharing that risk between both parties is the just the cost of doing business when it comes to multiyear deals.
“Ultimately, you don’t get any deal beyond one year done that isn’t sharing some risk,” he said.
And the Blue Jays GM feels that the club can hedge that risk by showing its commitment to winning. In this case, that means surrounding the young core of Bichette, Guerrero and pitcher Alek Manoah with the pieces the team needs to return to the playoffs and put last year’s nightmare loss to the Seattle Mariners in the rear-view mirror.
Adding players such as centre fielder Kevin Kiermaier, backup first baseman Brandon Belt and starter Chris Bassitt can only help. And returning Bichette into that mix is what Atkins terms as a “win-win” for the organization and its fans.
“It’s always a good outcome to reach an agreement with one of your best players and he’s been integral to this team and this franchise for some time now.”
Paul Attfield