*Photo from Sports Illustrated*
One member of the young core has clarity on the next few years. The Toronto Blue Jays and SS Bo Bichette have agreed to a 3 year, $33.6 million contract, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. The Blue Jays have confirmed.
Bichette was the lone remaining arbitration eligible player on the Blue Jays roster, but he now has a new contract, so the Blue Jays will avoid even a single arbitration hearing this season. The deal covers all 3 of his arbitration eligible seasons. There are also incentives tied to votes for AL MVP.
Toronto GM Ross Atkins said of the extension that "He does have the belief that he will continue to be one of the best players in the game, and so do we. If that weren’t the case, this deal doesn’t happen. These types of deals happen with MVP-caliber players, and we believe that he is an MVP-caliber player and will continue to be."
Last season, Bichette had another strong campaign with the Blue Jays. The youngster ended the season with a .290 batting average, .469 slugging percentage, and .802 OPS, bashing 24 home runs with 93 RBI's in 159 games played, adding 13 stolen bases.
His end to 2022 in particular was one for the ages. From September 1 to the end of the regular season, Bichette posted a .406 batting average and 1.105 OPS over 32 games, hitting 7 home runs in that span, helping the Blue Jays to a playoff spot, where they eventually were swept in the Wild Card Round.
Bichette has spent 4 seasons in the majors since debuting with the Blue Jays in 2019. In that time, he has amassed a .297 batting average, .340 on base percentage, and .491 slugging percentage, hitting 69 home runs with 239 RBI's in 393 games played. In the postseason, Bichette has two hits in 17 plate appearances over 4 games.
With Bichette signed, the Blue Jays agreed to contracts with all 12 of their arbitration eligible players ahead of spring training early next week.
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