Once again, the Toronto Blue Jays are failing to live up to expectations in 2024. Yes, it's still early, but the American League East is strong and it feels highly unlikely they can win this division.
It's been several years of this Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr-led core now without any postseason success. The Blue Jays haven't gotten past the Wild Card Round with the two superstars at the forefront, which has resulted in trade rumors popping up, especially around Vladdy, who isn't the same player as a few years ago.
On Sunday, GM Ross Atkins made an appearance on MLB Network Radio and made it clear the organization is looking to extend both players while also explaining why trading either of them would “make no sense” for Toronto:
“Both of them, especially in the month of May, have been very solid. Vladdy has been exceptional in May, he had a slow start, some swing adjustments for him, he is in a really really strong place and as I mentioned Bo had a strong May and that's going to continue. Both of them have just such good feel for the barrel and such good feel for competing in the batters box that they're going to perform.
On the second part of that about extensions, of course we have dialogue with them and that's something that will continue. We believe in them, we believe in their futures, and we hope there's a way they can play here for a long time. And on the question about potential trades, it just doesn't make sense for us, you know oftentimes, not often, there will be occasional times where you're talking to other executives and they'll ask if you'll consider and we just say it's not something that we have spent any time on. But because they're such great players and great teammates, they're attractive to other teams.”
Should the Blue Jays trade Bichette or Guerrero Jr?
This is definitely a question that has surfaced a lot at the beginning of this season because of the Jays' slow start. Vladdy is the player who is mentioned more frequently in trade rumors given his decline in production, while Bichette is still very valuable both offensively and defensively.
The reality is the Blue Jays haven't reached their World Series aspirations with the duo leading the way. However, they're still very young and as Atkins said, May was better. Although hitting just .241 on the year with four homers, Bichette slashed .280 last month. That's a sign of better things to come. As for Vladdy, he batted .357 in May, raising his average to .292. Certainly respectable, but Guerrero Jr needs to find his power stroke. He only has five home runs.
Baseball is a team sport and it doesn't come down to just two players. Toronto isn't swinging it well as a whole, ranking 23rd in runs scored while sitting 20th in team ERA at 4.17.
That being said, if Bichette and Vladdy can set the tone, it'll do a lot for this lineup. And by the sounds of it, neither player is going anywhere. You heard it from the horse's mouth.
Follow Us
Subscribe