Bo Bichette's return to Toronto should create mixed feelings for Blue Jays

For the first time since hitting a three-run home run in Game 7 of the 2025 World Series, Bo Bichette will be back at Rogers Centre. The former Toronto Blue Jays' star shortstop returns with the New York Mets to beginning a series against the Blue Jays on Monday (Jun. 29).

It will bring about a ton of mixed feelings for fans of the Blue Jays. Currently, the team is not doing well, mired in a six game losing streak and coming off a four-game sweep at the hands of the Texas Rangers. They are also 39-45 going into Mondays game, 10.5 games behind the AL East leading Tampa Bay Rays and now 2.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot.

It's not just the record that will have Blue Jays' fans feeling sour. Some have not forgiven Bichette for taking the money and running to Queens. Bichette landed a lucrative three-year $126 million deal with the Mets this past offseason after being drafted, developed and spending his first seven years of the big leagues with the Blue Jays. So there is a sense of loyalty that fans felt was never honoured by Bo.

There is an argument that the Blue Jays never would have given him that kind of cash, at least over the short term, but certainly throughout the offseason it was noted that the Blue Jays and Bichette were talking numbers to some extent. Then when the numbers with the Mets were revealed, a segment of the fan base was happy that Bo was going to get paid, and didn't mind that he was headed to the National League, where his production was less likely to hurt the Blue Jays.

Any of the fans that felt like it was a bittersweet moment, mostly felt the bitterness after the introductory press conference as Bichette said his motivation for joining the Mets was that his, "first priority is winning and obviously this organization is doing everything it can to do that.”

It felt as if Bichette didn't believe the Blue Jays were doing the exact same thing, even though he had just gone to Game 7 of the World Series with said Blue Jays - but really, what else is the guy going to say? "Woah momma that's a lot of money, heck yeah I'm going to sign here!"

Regardless of the money, it felt as if there was going to be a need for Bichette in Toronto. Sure, his defense was getting worse year-by-year and his injuries didn't aid in that regard, but a move over to second base during the World Series opened the possibility of him being able to do that long-term. In the end, he signed with the Mets to play third base, leaving fans in Toronto to wonder if they missed the boat on bringing back Bichette and utilizing some of that versatility to pair him alongside Ernie Clement, Andrés Giménez and possibly Kazuma Okamoto.

However, the Blue Jays signed Okamoto at the beginning of January and many felt that completely closed the door on Bichette's return. But as we've seen this year, the Blue Jays infield had the potential to be even more fluid in terms of righty-lefty matchups and defensive alignments.

Would anyone really be complaining right now if the Blue Jays had Bichette and Okamoto and Clement working in some sort of platoon with DH games mixed in? That would leave George Springer as the odd man out, but comparing how the two players have played this year, there's a fair argument to be had that that alignment might've helped the Blue Jays more, in the long run.

Blue Jays prepared to welcome back Bichette while needing to get back on track themselves

If the 2026 Blue Jays were looking for any kind of motivation to get their season back on track, it would be proving to their former teammate that he made the wrong choice to leave them. Bichette didn't have the best start to the season, but has been much better as of late. Since May 18, when he had a big home run in a 16-7 Mets win, Bichette has hit .309/.345/.533 with eight home runs and a 143 wRC+.

He's also coming into Rogers Centre on a heater. He's on a seven game hit streak with nine hits, two home runs, and a .467 BABIP, while playing at short, third and DHing one game. Should Toronto be able to contain Bo, it could be a turning point, while sending a very thoughtful message to their former clubhouse buddy.

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