Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette on if he’d be surprised if he were moved at the trade deadline: ‘Not surprised at all’

With the Toronto Blue Jays currently at a crossroads between buying and selling this summer, the fifth-place club is seven games under .500 and easily one of the biggest disappointments out of the gate this season.

As the season hits the halfway mark and after Ross Atkins’ earlier media availability earlier today, Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae spoke to Jays shortstop Bo Bichette before tonight’s game and asked him whether he would be surprised if the front office traded him at the deadline.

His response was blunt, “No. Not surprised at all.”

It doesn’t come as a shock that the Blue Jays infielder is feeling like he may be moved this summer, as the organization continues to creep closer to becoming a seller with postseason aspirations continuing to slip away. While the likes of Yusei Kikuchi, Yimi Garcia, Danny Jansen, Justin Turner, and Kevin Kiermaier are more likely to be moved at the deadline given their current contract statuses, the Jays could also net a haul of prospects if they were to move either Bichette or Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who are both under contract control through next season.

For Bichette, the 2024 season has been one that follows in the footsteps of Alek Manoah’s dismal campaign last season. The Florida product owns a .234/.285/.337 slash line with four home runs and 28 RBIs, a far cry from the pace that Bichette set as the AL hits leader in 2021 and 2022. The shortstop currently owns a -0.2 bWAR as the Jays hit the halfway mark in the campaign and his .622 OPS is currently on track to be the lowest mark of his career.

Even with his struggles at the plate, the Jays asking price for Bichette will likely be sky-high given his track record and contract control through the 2025 season – worth its weight in gold in the game of baseball today. The club has kicked the tires with the two-time All-Star on a long-term extension in the past but both sides never gained much traction to lock down a deal, instead settling on a three-year deal that avoided the arbitration years of Bichette’s tenure with the Jays.

Whether or not Ross Atkins and co. decide to move Bichette this season is still to be determined but the 26-year-old’s response to Hazel Mae’s question earlier today is certainly going to raise some eyebrows from the fanbase about the temperature in the clubhouse as the schedule moves closer to the deadline.

Nothing is set in stone at this point but if the Blue Jays brass decides to become sellers at the deadline, which appears more likely than not barring a win streak in July, it appears star shortstop Bo Bichette won’t be surprised if he is packing his bags for a new team.