Typically, professional athletes try their best to avoid generating potentially controversial buzz when speaking to reporters.
But in another sign of what’s been a rocky season for the Toronto Blue Jays, star shortstop Bo Bichette appeared to openly flirt with the idea of playing for a team like the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.
“I haven’t really explored the city much. For me, first and foremost, I want to win. That would be the No. 1 priority for me if I was choosing a team, and the Giants are obviously committed to that,” Bichette told NBC Sports San Francisco in a clip making the rounds on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“They’re in a position to get the right type of players and I think that’s what’s important.”
‘Dude is basically begging to be traded’
Baseball fans appeared to be taken aback by Bichette’s remarks.
“This is crazy. … Dude is basically begging to be traded here! When does that ever happen???” X user @SFGiantsGuy_ wrote in part Wednesday.
“Make it happen!”
X user @LeafErikzen was also critical.
“How is one of your star players on another network talking about how he’d love to play for an organization like the Giants?” they wrote in part.
“This team keeps finding new, hilarious ways to embarrass itself.”
With Major League Baseball’s trade deadline scheduled for July 30, Bichette isn’t the only Jays player to generate buzz for appearing to toy with the idea of playing for another team.
Last month, star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. softened his stance on playing for the New York Yankees, a rival team he once swore he’d never play for.
“Sometimes one says things. It is not that I am trying to take back what I said about the Yankees,” Guerrero told Virus Deportivo, which ESPN reported on June 25.
Guerrero said he would “never sign with the Yankees — not even dead,” in 2022. He doubled down on those remarks in 2023 when he told the New York Post it was a personal thing with his family.
But last month, he said “this is a business,” ESPN reported.
“I sat down and spoke with my dad (Vladimir Guerrero Sr.) and my family, and this is a business. And I said I would never again talk about this topic and lots of people have asked me about it.”
Despite beating the Giants 10-6 Wednesday, it’s mostly been a season to forget for the Jays.
A poor win-loss record, a prospect being handed a lengthy suspension just after making his MLB debut, a play by a pitcher that went viral for the wrong reasons, and an epic collapse against the Boston Red Sox are just some of the low points.
The Jays will look to take the three-game series against the Giants in the rubber match on Thursday.
First pitch is set for 3:45 p.m. eastern.
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