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MLB insider just basically snuffed out any hope of Blue Jays retaining two All-Stars

Eric Cole
Eric Cole

Jays Journal

Toronto Blue Jays v Milwaukee Brewers / John Fisher/GettyImages

While the Toronto Blue Jays do have some financial advantages going for them, there is no denying they face some serious headwinds right now. They are coming off a very disappointing 2024 season, they play in an incredibly tough division, and they haven't been able to attract the game's top players, no matter how much money they throw at them. However, the biggest issue they have at the moment is with regard to the futures of Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

When they are right, both Bichette and Guerrero Jr. are among the best players in baseball at their positions. Bichette has made a pair of All-Star appearances and averaged an .826 OPS in his first five seasons in the league before his down year in 2024.

Guerrero Jr. has been even more impressive, with multiple top-six MVP finishes while establishing himself as one of the most feared power hitters in baseball.

Both Bichette and Guerrero Jr. are set to become free agents after the 2025 season. It is abundantly clear that the Blue Jays would love to keep both players, but there has been precious little progress (at least publicly) towards getting an extension with either player done. After the latest update from USA Today's Bob Nightengale, there seems to be almost no hope of keeping either Bichette or Guerrero Jr.

Bob Nightengale just revealed that the chances of the Blue Jays keeping Bo Bichette or Vladimir Guerrero Jr. are near zero

Nightengale's piece is wide-ranging and features the Blue Jays' plans/hopes heavily, but one of the more enlightening parts was when he was talking about Bichette and Guerrero Jr.'s futures in Toronto. Most probably were of the mind that Bichette was likely to leave already, given the amount of trade chatter surrounding him this offseason, but it was still pretty jarring to hear Nightengale say, "Bichette is as good as gone, with no real interest in returning, friends say."

For the optimists out there, there is at least a glimmer of hope with Guerrero Jr. who has at least engaged in talks with the Blue Jays about an extension. However, the gap between what Toronto is willing to pay him and what he wants is "at least $100 million," and if the two sides can't come to an agreement by spring training, Guerrero Jr. will decide to test his free agent market. Again, not ideal.

There is a lot of offseason left at the moment and the Blue Jays are still in the market to make a big move. Names like Anthony Santander, Alex Bregman, and Pete Alonso remain targets, and Toronto has been clear they are willing to pay. However, the future looks very unclear right now for the club, even if they add a big name or two, given that all signs currently point to Bichette and Guerrero Jr. leaving.

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Eric Cole

Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.