'I am here': Bichette focused on '25 amid contract discussions

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- What about Bo Bichette?

A year ago, his name followed Vladimir Guerrero Jr.¡¯s, right in the same breath of every conversation we had about the future of the Blue Jays. Then, the 2024 season happened.

Bichette dealt with calf injuries -- over and over again -- and never looked like his true self. His .225 average and .599 OPS were the surprises of the season, completely unlike the player who had become one of the most consistent and predictable young hitters in baseball. He¡¯s still Bo Bichette, though, and he¡¯s still entering the final year of his contract with the Blue Jays. All of the attention has been on Guerrero as his negotiation deadline fast approaches, but there hasn¡¯t been nearly as much noise around Bichette.

¡°No, we haven¡¯t had any talks,¡± Bichette said, ¡°but from my perspective, we all grow up wanting to be one of those guys that has an opportunity to stay with an organization for their entire career. I¡¯m just focused on what I¡¯ve got to do this year to help the team win and be the best version of myself. Whatever happens will happen.¡±

In the three seasons prior to 2024, Bichette averaged 4.5 WAR (FanGraphs), led the AL in hits twice and posted an .815 OPS. There were times, particularly as Vladdy struggled to recapture the height of his talent, that Bichette was beginning to emerge as a face of the franchise himself, the strong, silent type who commands attention the moment he speaks. That drifted away last season, but it hasn¡¯t disappeared over the horizon.

Bichette and Guerrero will forever be tied. They were the next great hopes of this organization together, the two kids with famous last names coming to save the Blue Jays. They¡¯ve grown from teenagers into young men together, popped champagne and failed together. They don¡¯t want it to end.

¡°Vladdy is one of my best friends. We¡¯ve had tons of conversations like that,¡± Bichette said. ¡°We¡¯ve talked about playing together forever since he was 18 and I was 19. That¡¯s still a goal of ours.¡±

When GM Ross Atkins spoke Thursday in Dunedin, Fla., he stayed 100 miles away from touching any specifics on negotiation talks, whether it be with Guerrero, Bichette or Daulton Varsho, who Atkins added to the conversation, unprompted. Atkins called the three ¡°very exciting players who we would like to keep here for an extended period of time,¡± but the desire itself is a small factor. It¡¯s about finding the right number, and with Bichette coming off the 2024 season, it feels very difficult to find a middle ground both sides would agree on.

John Schneider has known Bichette, much like Guerrero, since managing him in the lower levels of the Minor Leagues. Schneider always tells the story of being amazed by Bichette¡¯s competitiveness from the time he was 18. He treated games of table tennis in the clubhouse like Game 7 of the World Series. That¡¯s been a challenge for Bichette at times, who is also his own biggest critic, but when he¡¯s right, that¡¯s part of what makes him special.

¡°Bo. ... You guys will see Bo,¡± Schneider said. ¡°Bo looks like Bo, which is really, really refreshing. We¡¯re talking about adding a bat and adding [another] bat, but we kind of operated without one of our best bats last year in Bo. Having him back is going to be big.¡±

Bichette showed a willingness to work with the organization this offseason, too, flying to Toronto to help court Roki Sasaki after he was approached by the club. Bichette called it a ¡°no-brainer.¡± Besides, Sasaki is a special young talent who Bichette thinks would have ¡°helped us tremendously.¡±

Bichette can be difficult to read from a distance, but it¡¯s not his job to be read. While Guerrero has been more open about his desires for the future, that¡¯s also because he¡¯s been put in front of the camera and asked about it more often.

As Bichette was asked about his future on Thursday, standing in his corner of the Blue Jays¡¯ clubhouse, he kept circling each answer back to the same point. He wants to win. He¡¯s focused on this team, this clubhouse, this year.

To Bichette¡¯s immediate left sat the locker of his friend, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

He was asked, then, how he was handling his contract status. Is it a distraction, or is he able to compartmentalize it? Bichette replied with three words:

¡°I am here.¡±