Are the Blue Jays shopping Bo Bichette?

Are the Blue Jays shopping Bo Bichette?

Once heralded as having one of the top rising cores throughout MLB, the Toronto Blue Jays significantly underperformed last year, finishing 74-88 and last in the AL East after making the postseason in three of their previous four seasons.

One of those reasons was due to the underperforming Bo Bichette, whose season was cut short due to injuries. While the Blue Jays hoping to re-sign Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a long-term deal, perhaps the greater question is what happens with Bichette, who’s also entering the last year of his current contract.

According to MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, there’s still leaguewide interest for Bichette, even if they’re not looking to move him yet.

“They are fielding interest in Bichette, who also is entering his walk year,” Rosenthal wrote Thursday. “The Jays do not appear nearly as interested in signing him as they do Guerrero. And circumstances have changed since Atkins told MLB Network’s Jon Morosi in November that his answer to trade inquiries on Bichette was ‘an easy no.’

“Still, the Jays do not appear to be shopping Bichette. Executives from three rival clubs, granted anonymity for their candor, said the Jays are open to moving him, but only for a high price.”

There was no denying that Bichette was one of the best offensive middle infielders across MLB entering 2024. His season was cut short due to injuries to his calf and finger, but when he was on the field, he significantly underperformed relative to his standard.

In just 336 plate appearances (fewest since 2020), he slashed a .225/.277/.322 — which were all career lows across the board — accumulating a 71 OPS+ with four home runs, 31 RBIs and five stolen bases.

Bichette’s peripherals were even worse. According to Baseball Savant, his barrel rate dipped from 9.6 percent to 4.4 percent; his hard-hit rate decreased from 44.9 to 43.5 percent; his weighted on-base average dipped from .349 to .264 while his expected wOBA dipped from .363 to .303. If you’re looking at it strictly from an OPS+ perspective, he was never below 20 percent better than the rest of MLB–as opposed to being 29 percent below average in 2024.

All in all, it was a stark decline.

It wouldn’t make a lick of sense to sell low on the 26-year-old infielder, who will account for $17.6 million on the Blue Jays’ books in 2025, according to Spotrac. Given it’s the last year of his $33.6 million extension, you can’t help but wonder what that asking price would even look like.

Nevertheless, it will be fascinating to track if Toronto explores a trade mid-season if the team underperforms again. But Bichette is expected to headline a so-so shortstop class that features Trevor Story (opt-out), Tommy Edman, Luis Rengifo, Willi Castro and Miguel Rojas, among others. A bounce-back season would be ideal in more ways than one.

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