DUNEDIN, Fla. – Bo Bichette knows the deal when it comes to arbitration and fully understood what facing the Toronto Blue Jays in a hearing room would entail.
“Basically,” the star shortstop explained, “I’m going to go in there and say, ‘I’m good,’ and they’re going to say, ‘Yeah you’re good, but you’re not that good.’”
All too often business gets personal that way, which is why Bichette, while ready and willing to argue his case last week, kept wondering if he and the Blue Jays were really going to let themselves go after one another in a winner-take-all clash.
After all, he told reporters, “arbitration is an incredibly flawed process, one that isn’t very good for the game. There’s no reason to pit owners and executives against players. Just no reason.”
“I just don’t think that’s a good position for relationships,” Bichette added later in an interview. “As players and as owners we should be striving to have a good relationship between boss and employee.”
To that end, Bichette is “very grateful” that the Blue Jays made the first move that led to a $33.6-million, three-year contract that averted arbitration last week. He didn’t know what to expect when the club tabled him a three-year offer roughly a week before the hearing date, but as soon as he saw it, he knew they were on a path to settlement rather than a path to conflict.
“It was never really about how much money I can make or anything like that, it was more about seeing that the team wanted to value me,” Bichette said in the interview. “And I think that the contract they gave me definitely showed that they value me and respect what I do here. That was really all it was for me.”
That Bichette is feeling valued and respected as opposed to critiqued and diminished as the Blue Jays opened spring training Monday isn’t insignificant.
The outcome of his hearing could very easily have rippled through the typical good vibes as players poured into the Player Development Complex in Dunedin, Fla., an example of the club taking a hard line with one of its most pivotal cornerstones.
Instead, the deal became an example of creative problem solving after the club’s file-and-trial policy set up the hearing when the sides didn’t settle on a 2023 salary ahead of a Jan. 13 deadline.
“It’s great for both sides where he has security and we can say, ‘OK, just go play,’” said manager John Schneider. “Teammates definitely appreciate that, too, they don’t have to hear about it. Everyone understands the arbitration process in the game is tricky. Both Ross (Atkins, the club GM) and Bo handled it great and it is nice to not have that hanging over your head, whether it’s before the hearing, at the hearing or after the hearing. Pretty thankful it got done the way it did.”
As is Bichette, who along with the Blue Jays got caught up in an arbitration case that would have had far-reaching ramifications across the industry.
The 24-year-old filed an ask of $7.5 million while the club offered $5 million after hitting a roadblock in discussions ahead of the Jan. 13 cut-off.
At issue for both sides was finding relevant comparable players for Bichette, which is key to the arbitration process.
Comps supporting the Blue Jays’ offer were the 2019 cases of Carlos Correa ($5 million), Trevor Story ($5 million) and Javier Baez ($5.2 million), while Bichette could point north to another shortstop from that year, Francisco Lindor and his $10.55 million salary, and say he’s the middle ground between the two at $7.5 million. That ask would also have been in line with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($7.9 million) and Pete Alonso ($7.4 million) in their first time through.
Landing at a middle ground would have created a new precedent, which matters in years to come for rising shortstop stars like Jeremy Pena and Bobby Witt Jr. Hence, the stakes were high not just for Bichette and the Blue Jays, but also for Major League Baseball and the players union.
For that reason, Bichette “wasn’t very surprised,” that he ended up the only case out of 12 the Blue Jays didn’t settle before the initial deadline.
“There’s more to it that people don’t realize,” he added. “MLB will tell teams that they can’t go over a certain number for certain players. In my case, I would have been setting a new standard for shortstops and MLB wouldn’t let the Blue Jays, I’m sure, get to the point of coming higher. Things like that. I really didn’t really take it personal. I guess when I didn’t come to an agreement, I was just assuming that I would have to go to a hearing.”
Bichette’s salaries this year and the next two won’t be relevant as a comparable for future arbitration cases, but do provide some precedent for an arbitration-years guarantee without the player surrendering any free-agent years.
All in all, then, a pretty nifty piece of business all around, especially given what the potential alternative could have been.
“To avoid arbitration is good,” Bichette said, “but also to be on the same page with the team is nice, too.”
At the beginning of a spring training ahead of a season of opportunity, it is indeed.
