Bo Bichette’s biggest swing with the Toronto Blue Jays may ultimately be forgotten. Bichette, while playing through a knee injury, opened the scoring in Game 7 of the World Series with a mammoth three-run home run off Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani on Friday. The Dodgers came back to win the game, however, rendering Bichette’s homer a footnote.
Here is what might be Bichette’s final home run as a Blue Jay:
Bichette, 28 in March, will be one of the top free agents available this offseason. We ranked only Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman higher among free agents, and you could make the argument Bichette should be above Bregman given their ages. If Bichette has his way, he’ll remain with the Blue Jays and not sign a free-agent contract elsewhere.
“I’ve said I want to be here from the beginning,” Bichette said after the Game 7 loss, reiterating something he’s said for years.
Bo Bichette free agency: Pros and cons, contract prediction, landing spots and more for All-Star shortstop
R.J. Anderson
Bichette was drafted by the Blue Jays in the second round in 2016 out of a Florida high school and debuted in the majors in July 2019. He’s made two All-Star games and received MVP votes in three seasons.
“I would love to finish my career playing with him,” longtime teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr. said after Game 7.
Guerrero signed a 14-year, $500 million contract extension in April that will almost certainly keep him in Toronto the rest of his career. Bichette won’t require that significant of a commitment, but it will be substantial, and the Blue Jays can of course afford it. They play in a large market and are owned by Rogers Communications, one of the larger corporations in the world.
Despite missing the previous seven weeks with the knee injury, Bichette went 8 for 23 (.348) with the home run and four walks in the World Series. He also played second base for the first time in the big leagues. He volunteered to play second because it was where his limited mobility fit best given the knee injury.
Bichette hit .311/.357/.483 with 44 doubles and 18 home runs in 139 regular-season games before the injury. He was on pace to lead the league in hits for the third time in five years when he got hurt.
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