LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 29: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. #27 of the Toronto Blue Jays walks out of the tunnel before the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game five of the 2025 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 29, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
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The Toronto Blue Jays came up short in their pursuit of a World Series championship but there’s good reason to believe they will get another chance soon.
The team enjoyed one of the most successful seasons in franchise history thanks in large part to a collection of homegrown talent that will stay under team control for years to come. Their biggest star, first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., signed a $500 million extension to remain under contract for 14 years.
However, if the Blue Jays do want to return to the Fall Classic with their talented roster in tow, they will need to find a way to pay Bo Bichette, who is set to test the market as a free agent this winter. And Guerrero sent a clear message to the team’s front office about his hopes for that decision before free agency began.
“I would love to finish my career playing with him,” Guerrero said after World Series Game 7, according to MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson. “But it’s free agency, so he’s got to do his thing to go and do what he has to do, to get his money.”
Both Guerrero and Bichette are the sons of former Major League Baseball players and the two were prospects in the Blue Jays’ organization together before reaching the big leagues and powering the franchise’s World Series run in this past season.
Bichette was serving as the sport’s total hits leader before a knee injury cut his regular season short. But he then returned for the World Series and demonstrated enough health to log some important at-bats, including a consequential home run in the final game of the year.
So, to make Guerrero’s wish come true, the Blue Jays will have to come up with a significant new contract for Bichette. If they can’t, then Guerrero might have to get used to playing alongside a new shortstop.
“If the two sides can’t line up on a new agreement to keep Bichette in town, the Blue Jays could just slot in Andres Gimenez at the six, the way they have throughout this postseason,” wrote RJ Anderson of CBS Sports. “Alternatively, Toronto could look outside the organization. There aren’t many compelling shortstop options available, however, suggesting that Gimenez is not only the path of least resistance, but perhaps the best path period.”
Guerrero seems to respect the fact that Bichette will have to lean toward the largest contract he’s able to find this winter. But he also made it clear that he hopes it will come from the team that he committed to with his own $500 million deal.