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Seven teams who might be interested in trading for Bo Bichette
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Photo credit: © Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
Ryley Delaney
Jul 24, 2024, 07:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 24, 2024, 06:11 EDT
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It seems possible that the Toronto Blue Jays could trade their franchise shortstop, Bo Bichette.
During the Blue Jays’ trip to San Francisco, Bichette noted that he wanted to play for a winner, which the Blue Jays certainly aren’t in 2024. More kerosene was put on the fire when USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that Bichette had told friends he would welcome a trade away from Toronto.
In an article for The Athletic’s, Jim Bowden reported that he heard the Jays won’t make Bichette available, but he’d command “a top three prospect and two top-30 prospects in an average farm system” if traded. Of course, there have been conflicting reports, so who knows what the Blue Jays are planning. It’s also worth noting that despite his poor performance and injury, teams are still interested in Bichette according to Bowden.
The 26-year-old is under contract until the end of the 2025 season and won’t have to go through arbitration as the Blue Jays extended him to buyout those final years. A perennial All-Star shortstop who is arguably one of the best hitters in the sport with 20-home run power could surpass the value Bowden gave him, even with his down year and injury issues.
Speaking of his poor performance, Bichette is slashing a career-worst .222/.275/.320 with four home runs, along with a 6 BB% and a 19 K% for a 69 wRC+ and a 0.2 fWAR. His season has been hampered due to a calf injury on multiple occasions, and he’s currently on the 10-day Injured List due to a strain.
If the Blue Jays trade Bichette, which teams could be a fit for the 26-year-old shortstop?

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves are the most obvious team in need of a shortstop, as Bo Bichette would fit the team perfectly. This season, the Braves have a 54-45 record and are three games up for the first Wild Card spot, but trail the division-leading Philadelphia Phillies by 9 games.
Orlando Arcia has started 94 games at shortstop for the 2021 World Series winners, and while he’s a solid defender (2 Defensive Runs Saved, 2 Outs Above Average), the 30-year-old’s bat is incredibly light. This season, Arcia is slashing .212/.246/.330 with seven home runs in 353 plate appearances, along with a -0.2 fWAR.
While he’s hit more home runs than Bichette this season, he’s slashed .243/.294/.373 for his career with 77 home runs in 3074 plate appearances for a 76 wRC+ and a 4.9 fWAR. Bichette is a significant upgrade, even with the injury and his poor performance in 2024.
Coming into the season, the Braves had the 26th-best farm system in the league according to MLB Pipeline, a far cry from where it used to be. However, they had two top 100 prospects according to Pipeline, right-handed pitchers AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep.
With the injury to Ozzie Albies, the team called up their fifth-ranked prospect and their top position player prospect, Nacho Alvarez Jr.
This team desperately needs a good infielder, and Bichette would help them push for the postseason.

Cleveland Guardians

Leading the American League Central Division is like stealing candy from a baby, it’s simple when you put your mind to it. The Cleveland Guardians are 60-40 this season, five games ahead of the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals for the division lead.
Brayan Rocchio, 23, is one of Cleveland’s top prospects, but he’s struggled to take over the reins at the premium position. This season, he’s slashing .208/.301/.298 with three homers in 284 plate appearances for a 76 wRC+ and a 0.3 fWAR. Defensively, he’s pretty good as he has 7 DRS and 1 OAA in 694 innings fielded, but Bichette is a significant upgrade given his track record.
Cleveland’s farm system is around the middle of the pack, as it was considered the 19th-best farm prior to the start of the season by MLB Pipeline It’s worth noting that the Guardians also had the first-overall pick in the 2024 draft, selecting Tyler Bazzana, who is not eligible to be traded, which wouldn’t even be in the question if he was.
Trading for Bichette would allow the Guardians to option Rocchio, who could benefit from more time in Triple-A.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Do the Los Angeles Dodgers need a shortstop? Probably not, but this is the Dodgers, we’re talking about.
Out of any team we’ll look at in this article, the Dodgers have the best shortstop depth; however, both Miguel Rojas and Mookie Betts are injured, the former being day-to-day and latter being on the 10-day Injured List with a hand injury.
Betts has had a weird career in terms of where he’s played positionally. In 2023, he briefly played shortstop for the first time in the big leagues (98 innings), but became the team’s full-time shortstop in 2024, playing 53.1 innings, with 61 of his 72 starts coming at the position. I don’t need to go in depth as to how good his bat is.
Rojas, 35, is a great defensive shortstop, posting 1 DRS and 5 OAA in 322 innings played at the position this season. Last season, he had 12 DRS and 6 OAA in 953.2 innings, as well as 15 DRS and 10 OAA back when he was with the Miami Marlins in 2022. He’s having a good season with the bat as well, slashing .271/.316/.406 with three homers in 207 plate appearances for a 105 wRC+ and a 1.4 fWAR.
The Dodgers and the Jays make frequent trades at the deadline, as the two teams have made moves in 2020 and 2022. According to MLB Pipeline, Los Angeles had the eighth-best farm system coming into the season, with catcher Dalton Rushing and former Blue Jay prospect Nick Frasso ranking as their only top 100 prospects. Still, it’s a deep farm.
Depending on how long the two players are out for, Betts only recently started swinging the bat, Bichette could fill in nicely for the time being and maybe even push Betts to a position he’s more experienced in. It’s the exact type of move the Dodgers would make.

Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners are in a weird spot when it comes to the standings. If the postseason started today, they’d not make it as they are 3.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot, but they’re also tied with the Houston Astros for the American League West lead.
J.P. Crawford has played the majority of shortstop for the Mariners this season, and the 29-year-old is slashing .204/.299/.347 with nine home runs in 335 plate appearances. He had a much better 2023 season, when he slashed .266/.380/.438 with 19 homers in 639 plate appearances, but he suffered a fracture of his pinky finger on Monday.
Seattle’s farm system heading into the season was in the middle of the pack ranking 18th overall, according to MLB Pipeline. They had three top 100 prospects, Cole Young, Harry Ford, and Colt Emerson.
There’s certainly a fit here depending on how long Crawford is injured for. However, when he returns, one of the two players would have to take up a new position or DH.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks won the National League pennant in 2023, but currently trail the division leaders (the Dodgers) by nine games, and are one game back of the final Wild Card spot. Their odds of making the postseason according to Fangraphs aren’t great, as the site gives them 38.1% odds. Still, adding Bichette could help the team drastically if he returns to full health and performs better.
Like the Mariners, the shortstop position is held down by one player, Geraldo Perdomo. The 24-year-old is slashing .258/.321/.323 with no homers in 143 plate appearances for an 84 wRC+ and a 0.4 fWAR. His career-year was in 2024, where he slashed .246/.353/.359 with six homers in 495 plate appearances, posting a 99 wRC+ and a 2.3 fWAR.
Many teams’ farm systems in this article ranked in the middle of the pack to begin the year according to MLB Pipeline, and the Diamondbacks are no different. Pipeline ranked their farm system 16th in the league, featuring top prospects like Jordan Lawlar, Tommy Troy, and Druw Jones. It seems unlikely the Jays could land any of those players, but the Diamondbacks have a solid farm system.

Tampa Bay Rays

For the final two teams, we’ll look at teams attempting to chase down a Wild Card spot with the hopes of being competitive in the upcoming season. The Tampa Bay Rays (51-50) are 4.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot. Much like the Jays, the season has been disappointing and they may sell, but just like the Jays, they plan to be competitive in 2025.
Shortstop duties has been split between José Caballero and Taylor Walls. The former has started 65 games at the position, while the latter has played 30 games. Caballero is slashing .242/.304/.370 with seven home runs in 301 plate appearances for a 97 wRC+ and a 1.6 fWAR. Walls isn’t having a great season, as he started the season on the 60-day Injured List and has a 55 wRC+ and -0.3 fWAR in 98 plate appearances.
Like the Dodgers, the Rays have a good farm system, as they ranked sixth by MLB Pipeline before the start of the season. They have numerous infielders on the Top 100 list, including Junior Camiero (#4), Carson Williams (#20), Curtis Mead (#55), and Xavier Isaac (#58).
Fangraphs give the Rays a 17% chance of making the postseason, which obviously isn’t great. However, landing Bichette could help increase those odds if he can play like he did before this season, while also setting the team up nicely at the premium position for the 2025 season.

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants don’t have much of a chance at winning the division, as they are currently fourth with a 48-54 record, 13 games back of the Dodgers. However, they are just five games back of the final Wild Card spot in the National League with a 17.8% chance of making the postseason according to Fangraphs.
San Francisco doesn’t really have a shortstop. Brett Wisley has played the majority of the games at the position, playing 31 games and slashing .272/.305/.405 with three homers in 168 plate appearances for a 102 wRC+ and a 0.5 fWAR. Tyler Fitzgerald has started 10 games there and has hit well in a small sample size, slashing .299/.365/.552 with five home runs in 96 plate appearances.
Moreover, their top position player prospect, Marco Luciano, started seven games for the team, but is currently in Triple-A. Luciano is the 39th-ranked prospect in baseball, and helped rank the Giants as the 17th-best farm system heading into the season according to MLB Pipeline. Two left-handed pitchers, Kyle Harrison and Carson Whisenhunt, also rank in Pipeline’s top 100, as does Bryce Eldridge.
Like the Rays, the Giants don’t have great odds of making the postseason, and giving up prospects for a season and a bit of Bichette may be a bit foolish if they can’t make the postseason in 2024.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

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