Bo Bichette’s departure to the Mets has left the Blue Jays with a glaring hole they’re still trying to figure out how to fill.
No matter how you slice Toronto’s offseason moves, losing their homegrown shortstop to a three-year, $126 million deal in New York is going to sting.
Sure, Kazuma Okamoto could develop into a solid replacement. Dylan Cease should help stabilize the rotation. But there’s no getting around it – Bichette’s gone, and that’s a problem.
For most of the winter, the Blue Jays seemed confident they’d bring him back. They weren’t alone in that thinking. The Mets swooped in late and made an offer Toronto couldn’t – or wouldn’t – match.
ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle put it bluntly in a Friday piece: “Why the heck didn’t the Blue Jays get Bo Bichette back?”
“The question isn’t fair, but when you look at the Blue Jays as spring training begins, it’s hard not to look at the position group as being ostensibly the same, save for Kazuma Okamoto filling the spot of Bichette.”
That’s the reality Toronto faces heading into camp. They’re essentially running back the same lineup, just swapping out their most dynamic player for an unproven rookie.
The pressure on Okamoto is enormous now.
Doolittle notes that the Japanese infielder needs to “hit the ground running and become an AL Rookie of the Year candidate” for this to work. That’s asking a lot from someone who’s never seen major league pitching.
What makes this more frustrating is how well Toronto’s offseason started. The Cease trade looked shrewd. Okamoto’s posting was smart international scouting. Even the Cody Ponce signing made sense as rotation depth.
But then they couldn’t close the deal on Bichette.
It’s not just about the production, either. Bichette was their guy – drafted by Toronto, developed through their system, became a fan favorite. Watching him put on a Mets uniform is going to hurt every time the teams play.
The Blue Jays can still field a competitive lineup, even with Anthony Santander dealing with an injury. They’ve got pieces. But losing a homegrown star like this has a way of defining an offseason, no matter what else happens.
From where I’m sitting, Toronto’s front office better hope Okamoto adjusts quickly. Because if he struggles early, all anyone’s going to remember is watching Bichette rake for the Mets while they wonder what might’ve been.
