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Why the Blue Jays might have to go outside their comfort zone to re-sign Bo Bichette
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Photo credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Ben Wrixon
Nov 19, 2025, 08:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 18, 2025, 17:11 EST
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The Toronto Blue Jays’ front office is notoriously firm in its valuations of players when pursuing free agents and exploring contract extensions. President Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins stick to their assessments of what players are worth throughout the negotiating process, and their discipline has paid off on many occasions. 
However, not every negotiation can be won with pragmatism. Sometimes front offices need to be emotional and push themselves to uncomfortable places to secure the long-term services of a true difference maker. Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto are two examples of players who, by all accounts, Atkins and Shapiro were willing to go to unprecedented places to sign. 
This front office duo needs to treat Bo Bichette the same way. 
Nobody is pretending Bichette is the same calibre of player as Ohtani or Soto, who inked the two biggest contracts in baseball history. Ohtani just won his fourth MVP award, while Soto’s career .417 on-base percentage leads all active hitters. They’re both headed for Cooperstown as first ballot Hall of Famers. While Bichette is not on their level, he’s a fantastic player in his own right and a homegrown star beloved by an entire country. 
Bichette bounced back from an injury-plagued campaign to hit .311/.357/.483 with a team-leading 94 RBIs in 139 games for the Blue Jays in 2025. He missed the final three weeks of the regular season due to a knee injury, yet still finished second in MLB with 181 hits, just three behind Bobby Witt Jr., despite playing in 18 fewer games. 
The 27-year-old shortstop owns a .806 OPS (121 OPS+) for his career and accrued 3.8 fWAR for the fourth time in the last five years. 
Where Bichette showed his true value and character, however, was in the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He returned from his knee injury after sitting out the first two rounds of the Postseason and drove in six runs despite hardly being able to run. He swallowed his pride and volunteered to play second base, an easier defensive position, despite not having logged an inning there in MLB. He selflessly put his team’s success above any concerns as to how the move might affect his market value as an impending free agent. 
Atkins and Shapiro need to consider the big picture when negotiating with Bichette and his representation this offseason.
They likely have already decided how much they want to pay him annually, and for how long. What they can’t afford to do is stick too rigidly to these valuations if Bichette’s market takes them to an uncomfortable place — they need to get emotional or risk losing one of the most beloved players in franchise history. Free agents usually sign with the highest bidder, and that’s what the Blue Jays need to be. 
This front office group landed George Springer ahead of the 2021 season because they offered him a sixth year on his contract. Atkins and Shapiro closed the deal on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s 14-year, $500 million extension in April by following their hearts rather than heads. Guerrero rewarded their faith and investment by delivering one of the greatest statistical postseasons in MLB history, leading the franchise back to its first World Series since 1993. Springer, meanwhile, cemented himself as a franchise icon with his unforgettable three-run home run in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners. 
The final years of Bichette’s next contract might look ugly. His athleticism on the basepaths is already in decline, and he likely won’t stick at shortstop for much longer. Signing him to a long-term deal is absolutely a risk — but it’s a risk worth taking. 
Bichette’s story with the Toronto Blue Jays is still being written. Some day, when it’s all over, fans deserve to see his name on the Level of Excellence beside Guerrero. The front office owes it to everyone to get emotional and make that possible. 

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