The Toronto Blue Jays have made the postseason three of the past four seasons, but haven’t advanced beyond the wild-card round since 2016 and haven’t won the AL East in nearly a decade.
They also opened Sunday in a virtual tie with Tampa Bay at the bottom of the division.
A trade deadline firesale can’t be out of the question, but general manager Ross Atkins said Sunday he had no intention of moving either Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or Bo Bichette.
Despite their place in the standings and playoff failures, Atkins told MLB Network Radio per ESPN, “it just doesn’t make any sense for us” to trade them.
“There will be occasional times when you’re talking to other executives when they’ll ask if you’d consider it, and we just say it’s not something that we have spent any time on,” Atkins said. “Because they are so talented and such great teammates, they are attractive to other teams, so they will call.”
Guerrero is having another solid season, but hasn’t approached his MVP-caliber level of play since 2021 and Bichette is putting up the worst numbers of his career so far this year.
But instead of trading them, Atkins said he’s talked with both players about contract extensions.
Guerrero, 25, and Bichette, 26, are due to be free agents following the 2025 season.
“Of course, we have dialogue with them, and that is something that will continue,” Atkins said. “We believe in them. We believe in their futures and hope that there is a way they can play here for a long time.”
The same goes for manager John Schneider, who Atkins said is safe.
“I just don’t believe in changing [just] to change, or change for the sake of trying something different,” Atkins said of Schneider. “We have to be better. I do not feel that John Schneider has been anything but part of the solution, and [he] will continue to be.”
