Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins talks about potential return of Bo Bichette and more

ORLANDO, Fla. — The poker player in Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins isn’t about to so much as hint at the negotiations with one of the team’s most popular (and now free-agent) players.

But Atkins certainly acknowledged the attraction the Jays continue to have in Bo Bichette, the two-time all star who was drafted and developed by the team and walked to free agency last month.

“My conversations with him, I’ll keep to Bo and I,” Atkins said on Monday during the opening day of the Winter Meetings here at the Bonnet Creek Resort and Spa. “Great player, incredible impact on this organization.

“We wouldn’t be having a lot of this discussion about (the team’s momentum) without him and not just this year but over the last 10.”

As Atkins and the Jays’ front office continue their pursuit of an impact bat, Bichette remains at the forefront in that conversation. That he was able to get to free agency was the result of a confluence of factors, much of them related to a poor 2024 season where it didn’t make much sense for either party to negotiate an extension prior to his walk year.

Industry dialogue has made it clear that the next pressing order of offseason business for the Jays is to land an impact, top-of-the-order bat. Bichette and the darling of this year’s free agency class, Kyle Tucker, appear to be at the top of that wish list for Atkins and his baseball operations department.

As for Bichette, Atkins agreed that the team’s familiarity with him — from a drafted and developed prospect to an eventual star player, is a factor in his pursuit as a free agent.

“You would always choose that,” the GM said. “You would always choose to have more of a relationship and more engagement when you can.”

GM mum on conversation details

Again keeping his negotiating hand close to his chest — as you would expect — Atkins chose not to share any details of the conversation with Bichette or his representative.

As for whether bringing back Bichette to a shortstop role — a spot Andres Gimenez handled deftly late in the season and throughout the playoffs — Atkins left the door open for both options.

“Better for him to comment on, but we feel that he can impact any team in several ways,” Atkins said. “Playing shortstop, or second base, or other positions, he has the ability to do so.

“But we know he can play shortstop.”

Won’t get ‘into the weeds’ on free agency talk

As for the teams reported interest in Tucker — including a visit to the Jays player development complex in Dunedin — as you would expect, Atkins wasn’t going there, either.

“Getting into the weeds on free agency is something that just sets me up to talk about too much of the market,” Atkins said.

News and notes from Florida

Other news and notes from the meetings:

– Don Mattingly, who left the Jays as bench coach shortly after the 2025 run to the World Series, is reportedly on the way to taking the same job with the Philadelphia Phillies.

– Atkins said that the Jays are intent to monitor the workload of starter Shane Bieber as he continues his recuperation from Tommy John surgery. “As of right now, he’s in a strong position,” Atkins said of the Jays’ trade-deadline acquisition. “I suppose as he ramps up, we could consider (some limitations.) We’re taking it a week at a time at this point with Shane.”

– What’s the immediate future for hard-throwing Louis Varland? “Right now, we’re focussed on him being a reliever,” Atkins said.

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