Bo Bichette and the Toronto Blue Jays won't ever have to face off in an arbitration hearing, much to the star shortstop's delight.
Bichette signed a three-year, $33.6-million contract last week that covered all three of his arbitration-eligible seasons. With the possibility of a nasty hearing averted forever, the 24-year-old didn't hold back his feelings about the process.
"Arbitration is an incredibly flawed process, one that isn't very good for the game," Bichette said Monday, according to Sportsnet's Shi Davidi. "There's no reason to pit owners and executives against players. Just no reason."
Baseball's arbitration system has been in place with few operational changes since the 1970s. If a player heads to a hearing, he and his team exchange desired salary figures and then argue their cases in front of a panel, which chooses a winner and awards a salary.
During hearings, teams sometimes argue against their own players, which can occasionally lead to controversy and even heightened tensions between the player and the front office. One of the most notable instances took place in 2017 when New York Yankees president Randy Levine publicly criticized Dellin Betances after defeating the reliever in a hearing.
"I just don't think that's a good position for relationships," Bichette said. "As players and as owners, we should be striving to have a good relationship between boss and employee."
As a "file-and-trial" team, the Blue Jays have a policy of only negotiating long-term deals once they exchange figures with an eligible player. Bichette had asked for $7.5 million in a potential hearing, while the team countered at $5 million.
Ultimately, Toronto reached out to Bichette to find a middle ground, which became his three-year deal. That made the two-time American League hits leader feel respected in a way that went beyond the actual dollar figure.
"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."
