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By Drew VonScio
Contributing Sports Writer
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The Toronto Blue Jays have made it clear since the offseason started that retaining Bo Bichette was one of their top priorities this winter.
After Dylan Cease officially signed with the organization and a deal for Cody Ponce reportedly agreed to, Toronto now appears to be focusing on adding qualified hitters. Bichette's contract is going to require any team to pay up to sign him, and the Blue Jays are no exception.
Toronto now has an update on just exactly how much it may take to sign Bichette as Keegan Matheson is reporting it could be similar to a deal made last offseason.
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"Last December, (Willy) Adames signed a seven-year, $182 million deal with the Giants. That’s an AAV of $26 million, also close to Springer’s annual salary on his current deal ($25 million AAV)," Matheson wrote for MLB.com. "This feels like a useful number for Bichette annually. In theory, the top end of Bichette’s market could see him touch $200 million on an eight-year deal. There will also be teams eager to keep the term of Bichette’s deal shorter, which is understandable given that his sprint speed dropped noticeably in 2025 and he could play more of this contract at second base than shortstop. That opens the door to five- and six-year deals that look closer to Springer’s, but perhaps a shorter term opens Bichette up to a higher AAV."
Adames' deal seems to make the most sense for Bichette or one that is very similar. Bichette is two years younger than Adames was last year when he signed the contract, so the Blue Jays would be getting more from him in his prime.
As Matheson mentioned, the defensive positioning is going to be a double-edged sword in negotiations. Bichette and his camp are going to use his ability to play second base as a rationale for why he should be paid more. General managers, on the other hand, are going to argue that second basemen aren't worthy of $26 million per year like a shortstop would be.
Toronto knows it will have to earn Bichette's signature this winter, and a hometown discount won't apply. However, the Blue Jays now know what it might take to land him and can figure out how to play their cards correctly.
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