The Toronto Blue Jays’ off-season started earlier than hoped after they were eliminated in the first round by the Minnesota Twins in October, and several of the players on the Toronto roster are reportedly being targeted by some teams.
According to journalist Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Blue Jays have actually received several calls regarding shortstop Bo Bichette as well as designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
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However, Queen City club general manager Ross Atkins wanted to reassure fans regarding a possible transaction involving Bichette and/or Guerrero Fils.
“[Bo Bichette] is a very good player in a market where there are not many position players, he explained, whose comments were relayed by the TSN network. We are very lucky to have him and he is our shortstop for the future. Rumors, speculation, there are usually reasons [à cela]but in our case Bo is our shortstop for the future.
As a reminder, Bichette has two seasons left on his three-year, $33.6 million contract, which will include a base salary of $11 million in 2024. Last year he totaled 175 hits and 73 RBIs. The Orlando, Florida native also had a .306 batting average in 571 plate appearances.
As for Guerrero Jr., he hit 26 bombs while maintaining a .264 average and scoring 94 runs. Former Montreal Expos player Vladimir Guerrero’s son is entitled to arbitration regarding the signing of his next contract with Toronto.