Bichette looks to bounce back after rough season
Global News
Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette looks and feels like himself again at spring training after an injury-plagued 2024 season.
DUNEDIN – Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette looks and feels like himself again at spring training after an injury-plagued 2024 season.
That’s good news for a player entering his walk year and a team that needs him to be in top form as it looks to bounce back from a last-place finish in the American League East.
“I think we’re capable of winning a lot of games, I think we’re definitely better,” Bichette said Thursday. “There’s excitement, I think everybody is willing to do their part to win and show everybody what we’re capable of if people forgot. So it’s exciting.”
Bichette chatted for a few minutes by his clubhouse stall before morning workouts at the team’s player development complex. He bumped fists with teammate and good friend, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., as the slugger walked by during the interview.
Both infielders came up through the system and have been tagged as faces of the franchise. However, their future with the club beyond this season is unclear.
Bichette hasn’t had contract extension talks with the Blue Jays, who were unable to ink Guerrero to a long-term deal before his negotiation deadline arrived earlier this week.
“I’ve played with him for so many years that I know he’s here to win,” Bichette said. “Same goes for everybody else in here. So I think it’s pretty easy for us to put the media attention on that behind us and just get focused on winning.”
Bichette signed a three-year, US$33.6-million deal with the Blue Jays in early 2023 that covered his three seasons of arbitration eligibility. He said he has not had extension talks of his own.
