Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette focused on a World Series title, not the past or free agency

"I’ve got some pretty important stuff ahead of me right now," says superstar player.

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Published Oct 31, 2025  •  Last updated 1 hour ago  •  4 minute read

Toronto Blue Jays' Bo Bichette speaks to the media prior to Game 6 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, in Toronto. Photo by Ashley Landis /THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Bo Bichette has never wanted to think about the end of his time in Toronto.

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He didn’t want to think about it after a disappointing and disillusioning 2024 season that saw the Blue Jays plummet all the way to the basement of the American League East.

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He didn’t want to think about it when he injured his knee back on Sept. 6 and there was a very real possibility that his season was over.

And he certainly didn’t want to think of it prior to Friday’s Game 6 of the World Series, something he’s dreamt of since he and his fellow son-of-a-big-league-star teammate Vlad Guerrero Jr., broke into the big leagues.

But that doesn’t mean that the two-time all-star is incapable of being reflective of what a wonderful ride the 2025 season has been, a long and sometimes circuitous road that brought the Jays back to Toronto in need of just one win over the Los Angeles Dodgers to wrap up the 121st World Series.

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‘An incredible journey’

“It’s been an incredible journey,” Bichette said prior to Game 6, hours before fans filed into the Rogers Centre in anticipation of a big night in the city. “I’ve obviously grown up here in so many different ways. It’s the only organization I know.

“But I’m not really looking at the past. I’ve got some pretty important stuff ahead of me right now.”

And he’s not overtly looking to the future, either.

Task No. 1, of course was hitting cleanup in a Jays lineup that took two of three from the Dodgers in L.A. to set up the opportunity in front of them back home. However, that was to conclude, free agency will follow for Bichette.

But who knows, a World Series title could change whatever views both parties have on him remaining in the city and with a team he’s been with for his entire career and debuted for in the big leagues as a 21-year-old.

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Doesn’t take anything for granted

“It’s incredible,” Bichette said of the experience of the past month, even though a chunk of it was spent trying to fast-track his recovery from that knee surgery. “Everybody tells you (to embrace it), especially my dad (Dante), who never had an opportunity to play in a World Series. So your whole career, everyone’s telling you not to take winning for granted.

“But you have to learn that for yourself. There’s been a lot of times where I thought we would win and we didn’t. So to here and learn from the past seasons is … it’s special to be here. It’s something I’ll never take for granted.”

Along the way, there indeed have been learning curves, both positive and negative. There was the big rise one Bichette and Guerrero made their big-league debuts in 2019, immediately triggering massive implications.

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And then there was humility.

There were terrible Blue Jays post-season defeats in both 2022 and 2023 that Bichette didn’t take particularly well. Then there was the disaster of that last-place season to follow, one in which he was hurt for much of it and underperforming the rest.

But after an off-season of self reflection, he came back bigger and better than ever.

“I beat myself up a little bit,” Bichette told me in an introspective interview back in spring training. “There are a bunch of reasons my season went the way that it did last year, but it’s not something I’m really going to get into.

Bouncing back

“I’m in a great place to compete and enjoy the game and try to help this team win. We’re human. Last year I wasn’t my best.”

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This year, he was much closer, of course. And as much as he’s been a big part of the success and would have led the American League in hits if it weren’t for that Sept. 6 injury, his future has also been an undeniable part of that narrative.

When Guerrero signed his $500-million US extension in April, many wanted to assume Bichette would leave in free agency. That may still happen, of course, but who knows how much a World Series title could alter the negotiations from both sides of having him remain here?

Bichette knows one thing though: Even though he had plenty of advice to not rush back to avoid further injury and thus compromise whatever happens in the off-season, the competitive side of him took over.

“I had a lot of people telling me to take care of myself, for sure,” Bichette said on Friday. “I mean, I even had that mindset a little bit. But to have an opportunity to play in this series is a no-brainer.

“I mean, it’s the World Series, so none of that stuff really matters, to be honest.

“I’ll put it all out there for this.”

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