By and large, the past three years have been successful for the Toronto Blue Jays. They were able to build a nice young position player core led by Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., while they have been also able to build one of the deepest starting rotations in the entire MLB. Alas, the Blue Jays haven't yet cracked the code on how to mount a deep postseason run, having fallen in the AL Wild Card Series for two consecutive seasons.

2023 proved to be a bit of a decline for a nascent Blue Jays squad. After winning 91 and 92 games in 2021 and 2022, respectively, they failed to breach the 90-win mark (winning 89 games) after some of the Blue Jays' core players underperformed. Bichette, in particular, acknowledged the part he and the Blue Jays' other position players played in their disappointing 2023 season, a campaign in which many thought they had the potential to crack the league's upper-echelon of contenders.

“I don’t think a lot of things went right. […] From an offensive standpoint, we didn’t bring consistency. We just have to be better in our competitiveness, our preparation, our day-to-day focus. All of that. We have to be better,” Bichette said, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com.

Indeed, some of the Blue Jays' most important players, such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr., did not have the most ideal of campaigns in 2023. Guerrero's production at the plate declined massively; he wasn't already putting up baserunning and defensive value, leading to yet another precipitous drop-off in overall value.

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Bo Bichette did not drop names, but Guerrero himself knows that he has to be better for the Blue Jays for the upcoming campaign. The Blue Jays slugger stressed how important it was for him to get in better shape, and as Bichette said, this is exactly the kind of sacrifice they must make so they can reach their full potential as a team.

As for Bichette, he continues to be a stabilizing force for the Blue Jays in the middle of the infield. Only 25 years old, Bichette should have plenty of productive years ahead of him — but it's clear that he wants his teammates to deliver as well so they could finally exorcise their playoff demons.