Doesn’t it seem odd that halfway through the offseason, we’re barely hearing a peep about where longtime Toronto Blue Jays shortstop will play next season?
After the winter meetings last week, the rumor mill has gone cold, and in Bichette’s case, it’s practically frigid. The occasional whispers about the Boston Red Sox being interested have mostly died down, and the Atlanta Braves took themselves out of the running completely by re-signing Ha-Seong Kim on Monday.
Although there could always be teams making pushes behind the scenes, it seems as though the Blue Jays are the only team guaranteed to stay in the Bichette sweepstakes until the end. That could make them content to wait this thing out, but if their ultimate goal is to make sure Bichette stays, it’s a dangerous strategy.
All along, Bichette has expressed his desire to stay in Toronto. In doing so, he may have inadvertently hurt his own market, as the Blue Jays know they’re likely to get a chance to match any offers. But the odds of Bichette accepting another team’s offer could also be increasing if he doesn’t feel as though the Blue Jays have valued him properly throughout this process.
Mike Wilner, a baseball columnist for the Toronto Star, expressed a similar sentiment on Tuesday, and also spelled out some scenarios that could lead to Bichette’s departure, depending on how things shake out elsewhere in the sport.
“It doesn’t appear as though many firm offers have come in yet,” Wilner wrote of Bichette. “Teams may be waiting for outfielder Kyle Tucker to set the market for position players, or to see if free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman stays in Boston, potentially closing a door for Bichette there.
“Bichette might be waiting for the same thing, or to see if a spot opens in New York if the Yankees trade second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. The same could happen with Chicago if the Cubs trade Nico Hoerner. Bichette could be looking to see where Arizona trades all-star second baseman Ketel Marte and try to hook up with one of the teams that loses out on him. You can never count out the big-money Los Angeles Dodgers, though Bichette doesn’t seem like the ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em’ type.”
At a certain point, a player likes to know he’s valued, and the Blue Jays not yet making Bichette an offer he deems acceptable has to say something to the two-time All-Star about the only club he’s ever known. Sure, they might like him back, but they don’t seem desperate about it.
And for all we know, Bichette might be Plan B for the Blue Jays if they miss out on Tucker. That saga could end any day, and if Toronto wins the bidding war, the odds of a new deal for Bichette will instantly plummet.
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