All Toronto Blue Jays fans will tell you that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette are the heart and soul of the team. In the not so distant past, we could have added the name of Cavan Biggio to this group. However, things can change quickly in the sports world and Biggio’s star seems to have lost its luster. Short!
Yes, the Jays have big players in George Springer, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Jose Berrios, among others. However, these have not been fished out or developed by the organization. Even less did they grow up and progress through their baseball careers as Blue Jays members, unlike Vlad Jr. and Bichette. It has a very great value, all that.
Speaking of value, precisely, the two protagonists of this text are still under the control of the team until 2025, inclusive. We are talking about another four years here. So there is not too much stress to have.
Why the Blue Jays shouldn’t wait to extend Guerrero and Bichette – Sportsnet.ca
Signing Vladdy and Bo long-term may seem like a challenge for another day. But if the Blue Jays believe in their dynamic duo, it’s time to get deals done.
However, the more we advance in time, the more, if the trend continues to be maintained, the value of the two men will be high. Also, by the time their contracts end, Guerrero Jr. and Bichette will be 26 and 27 respectively. In other words, they will still be in their prime and will have many good baseball years to offer. So we have to think about it. We must also think about contract restructuring.
The good old comparables
When the time comes to sign agreements, we always go with comparables. A first good comparable precisely will be the future contract of Juan Soto of the Nationals. However, we will have to wait for him to sign his said contract, of course!
Apart from Soto, Guerrero Jr. can be compared to a guy of the caliber of Fernando Tatis Jr. Remember that the latter has in his pocket a contract of 340 million dollars for 14 years, or more precisely from his 22 to 35 years. He has just completed the first year of this agreement. Both sons are the same age and seem to have relatively the same career impact, even though everything is unique.
For his part, if he continues to develop well, Bichette could potentially compare to a player like Corey Seager. The stats of both players at the same age are similar and Seager is 27 as of today. The new Texas Rangers acquisition just signed a 10-year, $325 million deal.
Long-term contracts for star players further solidify a club, as other players in the league are drawn to the idea of playing and winning around superstars. There is a concrete plan for the future. By signing your best players for the long term, the future of the club is latently secured.
Accumulate mileage
Numbers 11 and 27 have a sincere complicity, as evidenced by this fraternal moment in the dugout. They take care of each other!
After all, they’ve been through a lot together, as teammates and humans. We need only think of their journeys at the minor level in Dunedin, New Hampshire and Buffalo, when both seemed ready to make the leap to the Majors and the management of the team left them hanging around in low, as they say. To the whole story related to COVID-19 and the fact that they were expelled from their city and their stadium for a long time to better return to play in Buffalo, far from their loved ones and their home.
To, who knows, maybe their World Series championship by 2026. It would be extremely sad if these two players did not sign a long-term agreement with the club or even see them parted ways.
