The futures of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette are “the most pivotal bigger-picture personnel matter facing the Blue Jays,” Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi writes, and it remains to be see if both young stars will remain in Toronto over the long term. Guerrero and Bichette are both controlled via arbitration through the 2025 season, and since their price tags will only rise (Guerrero is already arb-eligible as a Super Two player and projected for $7.9M in 2022), locking them up sooner rather than later would be beneficial for the Jays. That said, the two players have already done enough to ensure any long-term extensions would cost the Blue Jays a sizeable amount, certainly far more than $200M and maybe even nearer the $300M mark depending on the number of years involved.
As Davidi notes, Jose Berrios is the only Toronto player under contract beyond 2026, so the Jays have somewhat kept their long-term ledger clear in the event that Guerrero and/or Bichette are indeed extended to major deals. Speaking of the “and/or” usage, the Blue Jays might opt to just extend one of the two, “and the relationship dynamic between team and player could be impacted if there’s only one extension.” It will make for a fascinating topic for the coming years in Toronto, as Guerrero and Bichette’s contract situations weigh heavily on both the Jays, and on other players and teams around baseball looking to those two as possible precedents and comps.
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