New contract in hand, Jays’ Bichette can now focus on his game

Faced with a Thursday deadline, the Jays and Bichette stepped away from the contentious process entirely by finalizing a three-year deal worth $33.6 million (U.S.) plus incentives. That’s a win for Bichette and the Jays, but the importance of this deal shouldn’t be overstated either. The new contract didn’t buy out any years of his upcoming free agency and according to Bichette, a longer deal wasn’t even discussed. While Bichette didn’t face much adversity on his path to the majors, he dealt with a ton of it in 2022. “He’s just driven to be great,” said Jays manager John Schneider, who also coached Bichette at multiple levels in the minors.