The Toronto Blue Jays front office will have a lot on their hands this offseason when Bo Bichette hits free agency. The star shortstop is set to hit the open market when free agency opens in early November. Bichette is dealing with a sprained knee and has had to miss out on the Blue Jays’ postseason run to this point.
Shortstops are usually paid pretty handsomely in the free agent market, and one can assume the same will be true for Bo Bichette, who had a career-high batting average of .311. Whichever team does sign Bichette is expected to immediately get better.
Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette Gets Free Agency Prediction
In MLB, some free agents tend to wait their fair share of time before deciding on where they want to sign.
In a recent Bleacher Report predictions piece, Bo Bichette is given the title of this year’s ‘Is He Ever Going to Sign’ free agent:
“It only takes one team to believe, of course, and only two teams to spark a bidding war. Perhaps Toronto, Boston and/or Atlanta goes all-in on Bichette as its plan at shortstop through 2030 and beyond.”
Shortstops tend to make bank in MLB free agency, and there are so many examples to point to. Willy Adames, Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, and Carlos Correa all received contracts with an AAV higher than $20 million per year.
According to Spotrac, Bo Bichette’s market value is $186 million, with an AAV of around $23 million.
While Bichette’s fielding has taken a dip in recent years, his bat proves he is worth however much an MLB team is willing to dish out. Bichette is a career .294 hitter, and his career OPS+ is 121. Bichette also really showed out in a contract year, because he was limited to just 81 games in 2024, and finished last season with a negative bWAR (-0.3).
The 27-year-old shortstop is also a two-time All-Star and has led the American League in hits twice in his career. Bichette may not come with as much pop as some of the other shortstops named, but he strikes out far less than the average. He struck out 91 times this season in over 580 at-bats this year.
Will Bo Bichette Stay at Shortstop?
This is why the Blue Jays’ upcoming free agent may be predicted to take his time while signing. It’s unclear if MLB organizations will want to stick him at shortstop for the remainder of his career, move him to second base, or even use him as a designated hitter.
Bleacher Report writer Kerry Miller also added this about Bichette’s free agency:
“But after months of a growing consensus online that Bichette could get as much as $200 million in free agency, what teams are actually willing to offer might be insultingly low, leading to a drawn-out saga on par with what Alonso and Bregman dealt with before signing short-term deals in February.”
$200 million would be a boatload for a 27-year-old shortstop, and that would mean an MLB organization would be committing 7+ years to Bichette and also offering him an AAV of nearly $25 million.
Bo Bichette’s free agency sweepstakes will be one of the biggest MLB storylines this offseason, especially as the biggest shortstop on the market.
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