The Toronto Blue Jays couldn’t get the job done over a seven-game World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers this past October and November, but the sport has become hot again in The 6ix.
That post-World Series boom is in danger of being deflated, though, with the possibility of losing shortstop Bo Bichette in free agency. CBS Sports’ Dayn Perry warned that the city of Toronto would lose interest in the Blue Jays if Bichette was signed away to one of the league’s typical high spenders.
“Bichette enjoyed an impressive bounce-back season this year after nagging injuries sapped his production in 2024. When healthy, he's one of the best-hitting shortstops in all of baseball, and the Jays need him back. Baseball is ascendant in Toronto right now and losing the popular and homegrown Bichette would not be well received by an engaged fan base. There appears to be mutual interest in a reunion,” Perry wrote.
Bichette has plenty of options in free agency, and none of them are shocking after his massive October run for the Jays.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are reportedly considering a massive offer that could force Toronto to break the bank on the 27-year-old. The New York Mets and Yankees are both interested in well, for different reasons.
For the Mets, moving Bichette to second base with Francisco Lindor already at short would create perhaps the best middle infield in baseball. The Yankees, meanwhile, would be looking to potentially replace the slumping Anthony Volpe.
Bichette will not come cheap, and he will not come without one of the biggest bidding wars of the offseason. After devastatingly losing the World Series, though, Toronto can’t afford more heartbreak.
It’s on Ross Atkins to hand Bichette’s people a blank check and figure out the rest later. If Bichette chooses N.Y. Or L.A., it could be a talking point during CBA negotiations and potentially cause another lockout.