Bichette went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox.
The blasts didn't come against the stiffest competition, as Bichette took minor-leaguer Chris Murphy deep in the first inning before tagging Boston prospect Brandon Walter in the fourth, but it was still a strong performance from the shortstop. The homers were the first two of the spring for Bichette, but he's gone 11-for-28 (.393) overall with a 3:5 BB:K and appears more than ready for the games to begin to count.
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Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: Swipes first bag of spring
Rotowire
Bichette drew walks in his only two plate appearances during Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays, scoring two runs and stealing a base.
It was the 24-year-old shortstop's first stolen base of the spring. Bichette has swiped 38 bags on 47 attempts over the last two years for the Blue Jays and has emerged as a true five-category fantasy asset. With MLB limiting pickoff attempts from the pitcher and introducing larger bases this season, it's not outrageous to think Bichette could set a new career high in steals in 2023.
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Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: Running more in 2023?
Rotowire
Bichette plans to be more aggressive on the bases in 2023, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters on Monday that the team wants to be more aggressive on the bases in 2023, and the shortstop echoed those sentiments. The larger bases and new pickoff rules could see a rise in stolen bases in the coming years, but Bichette says that he was intending to run more even before the rule changes. The 24-year-old swiped 25 bases in 26 attempts in 2021, but went just 13-for-21 in 2022 in what was a disappointing season for Bichette until his sensational September (.406/.444/.662) saw him finish the year with an .802 OPS. A rise to his previous level in steals could see Bichette finish as one of the very best players -- not just shortstops -- in 2023.
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Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: New deal worth $33.6M
Rotowire
The three-year deal Bichette signed with the Blue Jays on Tuesday has $33.6 million guaranteed, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
The contract extension came together on Tuesday evening, just two days out from Bichette's scheduled arbitration hearing with the Jays. It covers all of his arbitration-eligible seasons and carries performance-based escalators that could raise the total sum to $40.65 million. The 24-year-old shortstop is currently scheduled to reach free agency after the 2025 campaign.
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Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: Agrees to multi-year contract
Rotowire
Bichette and the Blue Jays have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a three-year contract extension, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.
The financial terms haven't been announced, but Bichette is assuredly looking at a massive raise from the $723,000 he made last season. He was set for an arbitration hearing Thursday, but instead the star shortstop will receive a multi-year deal for his strong previous efforts. It buys out his remaining arbitration years, and he'll still hit free agency after the 2026 season. In 2022, Bichette 's red-hot September pushed him to an .802 OPS, 24 homers, 93 RBI and 13 stolen bases over his 159 total games.
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Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: Arb hearing set for Thursday
Rotowire
Bichette's arbitration hearing with the Blue Jays is scheduled for Thursday, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca.
Bichette filed at $7.5 million, with the Blue Jays countering at $5 million, when arbitration figures were exchanged earlier this offseason. Now it's up to an arbitration panel to decide which of the two possible salaries the 24-year-old shortstop will earn in 2023. Bichette made just $723,500 last year while delivering an .802 OPS with 24 home runs, 93 RBI, 13 stolen bases and 91 runs scored across 159 regular-season games.
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Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: Riding pine for matinee
Rotowire
Bichette isn't starting the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Orioles.
Bichette has recorded hits in seven of the last eight games, hitting .382 with a double, three runs, two RBI and a stolen base during that time. Otto Lopez will start at shortstop and bat eighth.
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Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: Sitting Tuesday
Rotowire
Bichette is not in Tuesday's lineup against the Orioles.
Bichette, who is hitting .405 with seven home runs and four steals since the start of September, will get a much-deserved rest day. Otto Lopez is starting at shortstop and hitting eighth.
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Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: Steals 13th base
Rotowire
Bichette went 0-for-4 with a stolen base in a 6-3 win Sunday over Boston.
Bichette grounded into a fielder's choice and stole second base in the seventh. It was his 13th stolen base in 21 attempts this season. Sunday's game was just the third time since the beginning of September that he did not reach safely. He has a .409/.449/.677 slash line with seven homers, 27 RBI and four stolen bases in his last 30 contests.
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Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: Four hits during blowout win
Rotowire
Bichette went 4-for-4 in Saturday's 10-0 win over Boston.
Bichette has notched multiple hits in seven of his last 10 games, though he has tallied only four RBI during that span. The shortstop has recorded an incredible .423 average and .699 slugging percentage over 123 at-bats since the start of September.
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Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: Launches 24th homer
Rotowire
Bichette went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI in Monday's 3-2 win over the Rays.
His two-run blast in the eighth inning off Jason Adam proved to be the game-winning hit. Bichette has been almost unstoppable in September, posting eight multi-hit performances in 11 games while slashing .511/.549/1.128 with six doubles, a triple, seven of his 24 homers on the year and 21 of his 87 RBI.
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Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: Three doubles against Texas
Rotowire
Bichette went 3-for-5 with three doubles, one walk, one RBI and one run scored in Saturday's 11-7 win over the Rangers.
Bichette recorded two of his three doubles off righty starter Kohei Arihara, one of which drove in a run in the third inning. The 24-year-old has been hitting everything in his last eight games, recording a ridiculous .514 average and 1.171 slugging percentage over his last 35 at-bats entering Saturday. The shortstop also tallied a monstrous 10 extra-base hits during that span, including six home runs and a triple.
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Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: Power surge continues Tuesday
Rotowire
Bichette went 4-for-5 with a double, a two-run home run and four total runs scored in Tuesday's 9-6 loss to the Orioles.
One day after he launched three homers in the nightcap of Monday's doubleheader, Bichette continued to punish the baseball. The 24-year-old might be the hottest hitter in the league right now with five multi-hit efforts in his last six games, a stretch in which he's batting .593 (16-for-27) with three doubles, five homers and 14 RBI.
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Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: Stays hot with three-homer day
Rotowire
Bichette went 6-for-10 with three home runs and seven RBI while starting in both games of the Blue Jays' doubleheader sweep of the Orioles on Monday.
After a somewhat lackluster start to the season, Bichette is finally rounding into the player fantasy managers envisioned when they invested an early-round pick into him on draft day. Though he's still not nearly as active on the basepaths as anticipated -- he's gone 9-for-16 on stolen-base attempts after a 25-steal 2021 campaign -- Bichette has been the top hitter for the surging Blue Jays since the beginning of August. Over his 31 games in the past five weeks, Bichette ranks 15th in the majors with a 162 wRC+ and has produced a .315/.356/.565 slash line to go with seven home runs, 23 RBI and 18 runs.
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Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: Hits three-run double
Rotowire
Bichette went 2-for-4 with a three-run double and a run scored in Saturday's win over the Pirates.
Bichette scored on a Raimel Tapia groundout in the fourth inning, then smacked a deep double in the seventh that scored Matt Chapman, George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero. Bichette has been on fire recently, going 9-for-23 (.310) with five RBI and four runs scored over his last six games. During that span, the shortstop has raised his batting average from .259 to .265.
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Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: Launches two-run homer
Rotowire
Bichette went 3-for-5 with a double and a two-run home run in Friday's 4-0 victory over the Pirates.
The Blue Jays were already up 2-0 in the ninth inning, but Bichette solidified the win with a two-run shot that scored Whit Merrifield. It was Bichette's 18th homer of the season and his first since he hit two versus the Orioles on Aug. 9. The shortstop has been hitting well lately, going 7-for-19 (.368) over his last five games. Bichette has improved his batting average from .259 to .263 over that span.
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Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: On base four times Sunday
Rotowire
Bichette went 2-for-3 with two walks and a run scored in Sunday's loss to the Angels.
The two-hit effort comes amidst a stretch during which the shortstop is hitting .370 since Aug. 21. With the two walks, he also improved his OBP to .305, his highest since July 29. Bichette has been a disappointment for many fantasy managers thus far, but his batted-ball metrics are still upper tier, and he could very well make a difference if he stays hot down the stretch.
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Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: Double and steal in win
Rotowire
Bichette went 2-for-4 with one double, two RBI and one steal in Thursday's extra-inning victory over the Red Sox.
The shortstop tallied a two-run double off righty Kutter Crawford to give the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead. Bichette has hit well in his last four games, going 7-for-17 (.412) with two doubles. He has a .744 OPS in 445 plate appearances this season facing righties and only a .616 OPS in 84 PAs against southpaws.
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Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: Steps out of lineup
Rotowire
Bichette is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians.
Bichette has started in all but two games this season, and Sunday will be the first time his absence isn't directly related to an injury. Santiago Espinal will take over at shortstop Sunday for Toronto.
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Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: Two homers in loss
Rotowire
Bichette went 2-for-4 with two homers, four RBI and two runs scored in Tuesday's loss against the Orioles.
The Blue Jays were unable to secure the win against the surging Orioles on Tuesday, but that was no fault of Bichette's, as he mashed two home runs and accounted for four of the Blue Jays' six runs. He also now carries a six-game hitting streak as he looks to finish the season on a high note. The young shortstop has been moved down to the bottom half of the lineup as he has not performed up to his standards, but as he heats up, he may move back in the top half and be in position to rack up more counting stats to close out the season.
