The Blue Jays locked up Vladimir Guerrero Jr. before he could test free agency, but they’ve still got major decisions looming this winter.
Toronto’s been the pursuer in free agency for five years now. They’ve chased all the big names, missing on Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto while landing George Springer and Anthony Santander instead.
This winter, they’re on the other side of the equation. Bo Bichette, their two-time All-Star shortstop, hits the open market at just 27 years old. He’s one of the toughest players to value in baseball right now.
Bichette’s 2024 season was a disaster. He’s bounced back as a contact hitter in 2025, but the power has completely disappeared – he’s sitting on just one home run. The Jays might want him back, but it all comes down to price.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan projected what that price might be. Bichette landed in Passan’s group of 2025-26 free agents expected to break the $100 million threshold.
“Two years ago, Bichette looked like a lock for $300 million,” Passan wrote. “A brutal 2024 soured his stock, and while his average has climbed early this season, the power he showed in three consecutive 20-plus-homer seasons remains AWOL.
“Because he’ll be a 28-year-old shortstop, Bichette can get nine figures. He also could opt for a short-term deal with opt-outs to maximize his opportunities to hit the market after a strong season.”
Not long ago, you could find plenty of baseball minds arguing that Bichette – not Guerrero – was Toronto’s most valuable long-term piece. That talk has completely evaporated, but the potential remains if Bichette can rediscover his power stroke.
Will the Jays jump back in if bidding starts at $100 million? It’s questionable after the Guerrero contract, but it’s certainly not impossible. The way I see it, they’ll need to decide if they believe Bichette’s power outage is fixable or a permanent decline.
