Bo Bichette Speaks Out On "Incredibly Flawed" Arbitration Process

Thankfully, star shortstop Bo Bichette and the Toronto Blue Jays were able to avoid arbitration with a three-year contract extension that buys out his remaining arbitration years. Bichette spoke out today about the adversarial arbitration process.

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. 

“Basically, 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.’

Obviously, added Bichette, that kind of confrontation certainly doesn't make for a feel-good situation between player and team. “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.”

As for the 3-year, $33.6M agreement he reached with the Blue Jays, he was thankful to "be on the same page with the team."

And as players always like to say, it wasn't about the money. 

“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. “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.”

Photo: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports