Getty
Bo Bichette breaks silence on leaving Blue Jays.
The Toronto Blue Jays saw homegrown star Bo Bichette leave this offseason to sign with the New York Mets.
Bichette had been a key player for the Blue Jays for years and has said he wants to return to the team. However, he ended up signing a three-year, $126 million deal with the Mets.
Following his introductory press conference, Bichette spoke to Blue Jays reporter Shi Davidi of Sportsnet and explained why he didn’t re-sign in Toronto.
“Vladdy is a brother for life, a friend for life,” Bichette said. “Always love him, (and) I value our friendship. Me and the Blue Jays were in touch all offseason. They showed interest, but at the end of the day, it became clear to me that this was the decision I needed to make.”
Although Bichette opted to leave Toronto, he said he and the Blue Jays did stay in touch. However, the star shortstop said it didn’t pan out, but he will always think fondly of his time in Toronto.
“I’ll only have fond memories of my time with the Blue Jays,” Bichette added. “I’ll only have fond memories of the fans, they supported me so much. I will also remember my first at-bat in the World Series; they had my back, and they believed in me after not playing for that long.
“They were supporting me through that. I was open to it, and like I said, we had conversations throughout the offseason and it just didn’t pan out.”
Toronto selected Bichette 66th overall in the 2016 MLB Draft.
Bichette ‘Grateful’ for Time With Blue Jays
Although Bichette didn’t complete his ultimate goal with the Blue Jays of winning a World Series, he is happy with how everything worked out.
Bichette said he’s grateful for the experience of playing in Toronto and getting to play in the World Series.
“I think it was a tough loss,” Bichette said. “I went home pretty grateful that I just had an opportunity to play in the World Series. Especially not only with what I had gone through over the last month or so, but what we have gone through as a orgainzation over the last 9, 10 years. Just grateful for the opportunity.”
Bichette missed most of September and the ALDS and ALCS due to an injury. He finished his playoffs hitting .348 with 1 home run and 6 RBIs in 7 games.
Bichette Wanted to Win
Although Toronto just made it to the World Series, Bichette said he signed with the Mets to try to win.
Bichette said his goal is to win the World Series, and he felt like the Mets gave him a great chance to do so.
“My first priority is winning, and obviously this organization is doing everything that they can to do that,” Bichette said at the press conference. “The roster is great, like I said, and then just playing in front of fans like this is a pretty cool opportunity. I’m excited to get out there.”
Bichette said he wanted to be a Met and is excited to play in New York.
“It was very obvious that I wanted to be a Met,” Bichette explained. “Mr. (Steve) Cohen and David (Stearns) have put together an organization that is looking to win every single year, has an opportunity to win a World Series every single year, and a roster that backs that up.
“It’s very exciting to be part of this city, one of the best cities in the world, maybe the best city in the world, some of the best fans in the world, and all of that is something I always wanted to be a part of. So, I’m excited to be here and excited to be a Met.”
Bichette led the AL in hits twice.
Cole Shelton Cole Shelton covers the NHL, MLB and Cleveland Browns for Heavy.com. He has covered pro and college sports since 2016, including bylines at BJ Penn, USA Today, SB Nation, Rotowire, Canadian Baseball Network and more. More about Cole Shelton
More Heavy on Blue Jays
Loading more stories