Bo Bichette knows the deal when it comes to arbitration and fully understood what facing the Toronto Blue Jays in a hearing room would entail.

“Basically,” the star shortstop explained, “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.’”

All too often business gets personal that way, which is why Bichette, while ready and willing to argue his case last week, kept wondering if he and the Blue Jays were really going to let themselves go after one another in a winner-take-all clash.

After all, he told reporters, “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.”

“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.”

To that end, Bichette is “very grateful” that the Blue Jays made the first move that led to a $33.6-million, three-year contract that averted arbitration last week. He didn’t know what to expect when the club tabled him a three-year offer roughly a week before the hearing date, but as soon as he saw it, he knew they were on a path to settlement rather than a path to conflict.