It’s a bit interesting that free agency years get looked at under a different light. Somebody like Bo Bichette, for example, could be losing hundreds of millions of dollars due to his performance this season after being one of the better shortstops in the American League over the past few years.
Perhaps that’ll help the Toronto Blue Jays keep him, but the expectation around Major League Baseball is for Bichette to walk, and that might not be the worst thing from the Blue Jays’ perspective, depending on what they do.
However, the 27-year-old two-time All-Star shortstop needs to start playing better if he wants to get paid. Whether it be from the Blue Jays or another team, his recent performance hasn’t been up to standard.
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, it’s been so bad that there could even be a scenario in which he takes a short-term deal to raise his value next winter.
“Yes, like, demonstrably,” he said
“I mean, going into last season, guys, we were talking about Bo Bichette as a $300 million player, like, not even a question, right? Like that’s who he is, he plays shortstop and he hits .300 every year and he’s gonna reach free agency in his 20s and he’s gonna get $300 plus million, it’s gonna be Trea Turner. At this point, I still think he’s a $100 million player, but is that even a contract he’s gonna sign? Or is he gonna go on like one of those short-term deals laden with opt-outs just to try and maximize that good year that he anticipates having at some point.”
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Clearly, that would be one of the worst scenarios for Bichette, but it might be what he has to do to help his cause.
Hitting .281 with just two home runs on the year, his numbers have to pick up soon.
