{"id":638743,"date":"2026-03-23T11:07:32","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T11:07:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/638743\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T11:07:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T11:07:32","slug":"blue-jays-former-star-bo-bichette-addresses-future-with-mets-with-opt-out-looming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/638743\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Jays Former Star Bo Bichette Addresses \u2018Future\u2019 With Mets With Opt Out Looming"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Toronto Blue Jays reloaded their roster with plenty of win-now talent this offseason, but one key piece has departed and it won\u2019t be easy for the team to replace him.<\/p>\n<p>After seven big-league seasons with the Blue Jays, including several standout campaigns at the plate, longtime shortstop Bo Bichette departed for the New York Mets in free agency. Long-time fans of the team will have a hard time getting over the loss of Bichette and the Blue Jays\u2019 batting order might struggle in his absence as well.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>But in the immediate aftermath of the departure, it wasn\u2019t clear that the Blue Jays had a lot of interest in retaining Bichette.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was the New York Mets who chose to pay stupid short-term money for Bichette,\u201d Steve Simmons <a href=\"https:\/\/torontosun.com\/sports\/baseball\/toronto-blue-jays\/simmonsno-intention-bringing-back-bo-bichette\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:wrote for the Toronto Sun;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;wrote for the Toronto Sun&quot;}\" class=\"link \">wrote for the Toronto Sun<\/a>. \u201cThe Jays\u2019 offer for Bichette, if there was one \u2014 and we\u2019re not certain there was \u2014 was nowhere in that league. Not term. Not money. Not anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/phillies-pitcher-collapses-mound-return-142913239.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:MORE FROM FORBESPhillies Pitcher Collapses On Mound In Return From \u2018Cardiovascular Event\u2019By Peter Chawaga;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;MORE FROM FORBESPhillies Pitcher Collapses On Mound In Return From \u2018Cardiovascular Event\u2019By Peter Chawaga&quot;}\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MORE FROM FORBESPhillies Pitcher Collapses On Mound In Return From \u2018Cardiovascular Event\u2019By Peter Chawaga<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/phillies-pitcher-collapses-mound-return-142913239.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"959\" height=\"540\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/557d5a8a40c050e024c9a9568a892869.jpeg\"\/><\/a>Toronto Blue Jays Lose Bo Bichette To New York Mets For \u2018Stupid Short-Term Money\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Simmons was referring to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spotrac.com\/mlb\/player\/_\/id\/19942\/bo-bichette\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:three-year, $126 million deal;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;three-year, $126 million deal&quot;}\" class=\"link \">three-year, $126 million deal<\/a> that Bichette secured from the Mets, which reportedly came shortly after he negotiated a large offer with the Philadelphia Phillies. Bichette\u2019s Mets contract only pays him $15 million of that salary next season but it also includes a player opt out after each year, which could translate into some valuable flexibility for Bichette.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>If he\u2019s able to demonstrate that he is healthy after missing much of the Blue Jays\u2019 playoff run last season, that he can manage a switch to third base and that his offensive production wasn\u2019t an anomaly, Bichette will have a compelling opportunity to leave the Mets deal and negotiate something new with the open market.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/dodgers-world-series-champion-son-135858511.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:MORE FROM FORBESDodgers World Series Champion, Son Of Team\u2019s Former MVP, DiesBy Peter Chawaga;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;MORE FROM FORBESDodgers World Series Champion, Son Of Team\u2019s Former MVP, DiesBy Peter Chawaga&quot;}\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MORE FROM FORBESDodgers World Series Champion, Son Of Team\u2019s Former MVP, DiesBy Peter Chawaga<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/dodgers-world-series-champion-son-135858511.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/916f61ab0bcd7d880193ad35262ba322.jpeg\"\/><\/a>New York Mets Star Bo Bichette Acknowledges Upcoming \u2018Freedom\u2019 With Opt Out<\/p>\n<p>The former Blue Jays shortstop addressed that option head on when he was discussing the season ahead with The Athletic\u2019s Will Sammon.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just look at it as I am fully invested in this team right now and I see myself on this team in the future,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7133185\/2026\/03\/20\/bo-bichette-mets-top-players\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Bichette told Sammon;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Bichette told Sammon&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Bichette told Sammon<\/a>. \u201cObviously, the goal of any player is to have freedom for their career. So I am definitely grateful for that. But I am fully invested in this team and ready to help this team win, and I really hope it works out for the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While addressing the value of an upcoming opportunity to leave the Mets, Bichette emphasized that potential contract talks don\u2019t impact his focus for the upcoming season. But it could be hard to put aside visions of Bichette in a new uniform if he picks up where he left off for the Blue Jays.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Toronto Blue Jays reloaded their roster with plenty of win-now talent this offseason, but one key piece&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":638744,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2396],"tags":[5,377,88,101,4,1690,61,2548,4203,25,81680,1414,282,70],"class_list":{"0":"post-638743","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-mets","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-blue-jays","10":"tag-bo-bichette","11":"tag-mets","12":"tag-mlb","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-mets","15":"tag-newyork","16":"tag-newyorkmets","17":"tag-philadelphia-phillies","18":"tag-steve-simmons","19":"tag-the-blue-jays","20":"tag-toronto","21":"tag-toronto-blue-jays"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116278176005600081","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=638743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638743\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/638744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=638743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=638743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=638743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}