The Toronto Blue Jays are limping through the 2024 MLB season with a 37-43 record, which sees them in last place in the American League East.
With just over a month until the MLB trade deadline, the Blue Jays clearly need to shake things up. But they're not eager to trade either Bo Bichette or Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – the two stars that could return solid prospects, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post:
“They aren’t going to want to trade Bo Bichette and Vlad Guerrero Jr. with both having another year to go before free agency. But word is, past long-term negotiations with both stars never came close to agreement. And folks who know the pair believe the Jays have little to no chance to lock up Bichette, and maybe only a slightly better chance with Guerrero.”
Dealing away either Guerrero Jr. or Bichette, or both of them, would send a tough message to fans– it could be a while before competitive baseball returns to Toronto. The two-time All-Star shortstop is bracing himself for that exact possibility.
“No. Not surprised at all,” Bichette said when asked if he would be surprised to be traded. That response, while completely understandable and realistic, could add to fans' distress.
There are multiple contenders who may desire Bichette's bat. The Blue Jays find themselves in quite the pickle, one that cannot be so easily fixed. Anxiety is bound to be high no matter what route this franchise takes at the MLB trade deadline. But Bichette needs to stay focused on what he can control, which is regaining his All-Star form amid a terrible season.
Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walks back anti-Yankees talk
A few teams could also be after the Jays' star first baseman – including the Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners, and New York Yankees.
After saying in the past that he'd never play for the Yankees, Guerrero Jr. is softening his stance.
Guerrero was asked Monday night if he'd reconsider past comments with the Blue Jays sitting in last place in the American League East.
“Sometimes one says things. It is not that I am trying to take back what I said about the Yankees,” Guerrero told Virus Deportivo on Monday. “But this is a business. I sat down and spoke with my dad [Vladimir Guerrero Sr.] and my family, and this is a business. And I said I would never again talk about this topic and lots of people have asked me about it.”
In 2022, Guerrero Jr. said he'd “never sign with the Yankees — not even dead.” In 2023, he told the New York Post that it was “a personal thing that goes back with my family. … I would never change that.”
The Yankees are searching for a fix at first base after Anthony Rizzo suffered a broken right forearm, He is expected to be out until August. In the meantime, New York acquired J.D. Davis in a trade with the Oakland Athletics, and they also called up Ben Rice from the minors.
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