MLB Rumors: Blue Jays' Bo Bichette, Guerrero Jr. 'Never Came Close' to New Contracts

The Toronto Blue Jays "never came close" to agreeing on long-term extensions for Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in past negotiations, Jon Heyman reported for the New York Post.

"And folks who know the pair believe the Jays have little to no chance to lock up Bichette, and maybe only a slightly better chance with Guerrero," Heyman wrote.

The Blue Jays are on pace to be sellers at the deadline, and both Bichette and Guerrero are currently set to hit unrestricted free agency in 2026.

However, Toronto general manager Ross Atkins indicated earlier this month that the Jays plan to keep both stars past the July 30 deadline.

"It just doesn't make any sense for us," Atkins said June 2 on MLB Network radio, per MLB.com's Keegan Matheson. "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."

However, Bichette told Sportsnet's Hazel Mae on Thursday that he would be "not surprised at all" to be traded at the deadline.

The Jays avoided arbitration with Bichette by agreeing to a three-year deal prior to last season, but they went to arbitration with Guerrero earlier this year. The team, which filed at $18.05 million, lost to Guerrero's bid of $19.9 million for the 2024 season.

While struggling to lock down stars who developed in Toronto to long-term deals, the Jays have also been recently unable to land major targets in free agency. Toronto "came up well short in an under-the-radar effort to sign Corey Seager" before the four-time All-Star shortstop signed with the Texas Rangers in 2021, Heyman reported.

The Blue Jays also made a bid for two-way star Shohei Ohtani last offseason, according to Heyman. Instead, Ohtani went to the Dodgers, and the slumping Jays are 37-43 on the season and 6.0 games back of the Boston Red Sox for the final AL wild-card spot.

Heyman named pending free-agent pitchers Yusei Kikuchi and Yimi Garcia as "more likely" candidates for trades than Bichette and Guerrero.

If the Blue Jays are unable to pick up the pace of negotiations by this offseason, however, both Toronto stars could be playing somewhere else by 2026.