Longtime Blue Jays teammates could earn Silver Slugger sendoff before likely breakup

Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have been teammates since they were teenagers. Both of them have come up through the Toronto Blue Jays system as young men, and now in their prime are looking to capture baseball's biggest prize.

Bichette and Guerrero Jr. are gearing up for their first ever World Series appearance as they take on the LA Dodgers starting on Friday for Game 1 at Rogers Centre. While they have their eyes on the ultimate prize of the Commissioner's Trophy, both players could end up with some other MLB hardware in what could be their final season together in Toronto.

Longtime Blue Jays teammates could earn Silver Slugger sendoff before likely breakup

Bichette is slated to hit free agency this upcoming offseason and while he's proven he can be one of the best hitters in the game, when healthy, the Blue Jays have also proven they can win without him. Bichette has missed the last six weeks of baseball, and in that time the Blue Jays not only locked down the AL East division title, they made it all the way to the World Series.

All indications point to him being ready to join the Blue Jays in the Fall Classic, and it's only fitting that he at least deserves a chance to play in the biggest series the franchise has seen in 32 years, but after that, it's anybodies guess as to which uniform Bichette will be wearing.

If it is his final season with the Blue Jays and alongside his longtime pal in Guerrero, Bichette has made it a memorable one. After a disastrous 2024 campaign, Bichette rebounded and had one of the better years of his career and he's been nominated as a Silver Slugger finalist for shortstops, while Vladdy has been named among the American League's first basemen.

Both Bichette and Guerrero make interesting cases to walk away with their respective awards, with neither guy being the clear cut favourite in their respective categories.

Bichette hit .311/.357/.483 with an .840 OPS. He hit 18 home runs in 139 games before his season ended in early September after a collision at the plate when he slid into Yankees catcher Austin Wells.

Jeremy Peña of the Houston Astros and Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals are Bo's competition for this years award and they are some stiff competitors to say the least. Witt ended the year with three more hits than Bo and outhomered him 23-18, but Witt also played in 18 more games. Peña finished with 150 hits, which was ranked seventh among AL shortstops and his 17 home runs were ranked sixth. Bo topped the group in batting average (.311), Peña had the best wRC+ (135) and Witt had the best OPS (.852).

On the first base side of things Guerrero Jr., is challenged by Nick Kurtz of the Athletics and Vinnie Pasquantino of the Kansas City Royals. Kurtz led with 36 home runs, Pasquantino had 32, and Vladdy had 23. Pasquantino also drove in 113 RBIs while Kurtz ended the year with 86 and Guerrero had 84. Guerrero led the way in batting aveage at .292, followed by Kurtz (.290) and Pasquantino (.264).

When it comes to the advanced numbers, Kurtz 170 wRC+ is pretty eye popping while Guerrero's 137 is nothing to sneeze at and Pasquantino had a 116. Kurtz also led the group in OBP, SLG and OPS.

Both of the Blue Jays nominations are certainly deserving to be in this class, but they likely aren't favourites like their teammate George Springer - nominated for both a DH and outfield Silver Slugger as revealed exclusively on FanSided earlier today. However, this is a nice feather in the cap for the two superstars who could be entering their final days as teammates, on the biggest stage in baseball.