It&#8217;s been a season to forget for Bo Bichette. Actually, it&#8217;s been a season-and-a-half to forget for the Blue Jays shortstop. Ever since dealing with leg injuries dating back to last August, Bichette hasn&#8217;t quite been the same.
And as he continues to rehab his calf injury, he&#8217;s ramping up baseball activity as the two-time All-Star attempts to make a return before the end of the year. And with all eyes squarely upon Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and his next contract, Bichette has faded into the background.
As the Blue Jays continue to ponder their future with or without their franchise figureheads, it appears they may be ready to move on from at least one staple in their lineup.
This tidbit from <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2024/08/18/ethan-holliday-2025-mlb-draft-top-prospect-jackson/74842574007/">Bob Nightengale’s latest piece at USA Today</a> unearthed something that people have been whispering about in the background, but now it has been substantiated (credit to Brandon Wile for finding the pullquote).
<blockquote>The Toronto Blue Jays are expected to entertain trade offers this winter for shortstop Bo Bichette, who has no plans to stay in Toronto once he’s a free agent after the 2025 season.</blockquote>
This doesn&#8217;t mean the Blue Jays will trade Bichette in the offseason, but with everything that&#8217;s transpired this season, it would not be a shocker to see Bichette in a non-Blue Jays uniform in 2025. While Vladdy has publicly stated his desire to stay in Toronto long term, Bichette has been coy about his future with the Blue Jays.
Nightengale&#8217;s report also lines up with something Jeff Blair said last week on Blair &amp; Barker, indicating he also believes the probability of the Blue Jays trading Bichette this winter is high:
<blockquote>Right now, if I had to rank Bo coming back without a new contract, Bo being traded, or Bo getting a new free agent deal, I would go 1.) Bo being traded, 2.) Bo coming back with the same contract, 3.) Bo coming back with a deal, buying out his free agency.
I absolutely believe Bo needs a change of scenery. I think everything we’ve seen tells us that.</blockquote>
Even if he has no interest in re-signing past 2025 with the Blue Jays, it doesn&#8217;t mean the Blue Jays are beholden to trade away their shortstop. But if the guy doesn&#8217;t want to be here, and he already has one foot out of the door in his mind already, it makes sense for the Blue Jays to game plan for life after Bichette and pull the parachute one year early and at least recoup some value.
If the Blue Jays intend on contending in 2025 &#8211; and judging by their actions at the trade deadline, they still believe that philosophy &#8211; it&#8217;s prudent to hang onto Bichette for one final year. But then they risk he signs elsewhere and all they get is a compensation pick.
At least by trading him this offseason, they might get a big league piece back or some high-end prospects that could make a difference on the big league roster in the near future.
Replicating Bichette’s production would be hard, but this team desperately needs to re-allocate resources, and they could spread the $17.5 million earmarked for him next season across several positions rather than one.

It's been a season to forget for Bo Bichette. Actually, it's been a season-and-a-half to forget for the Blue Jays shortstop. Ever since dealing with leg injuries dating back to last August, Bichette hasn't quite been the same.

And as he continues to rehab his calf injury, he's ramping up baseball activity as the two-time All-Star attempts to make a return before the end of the year. And with all eyes squarely upon Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and his next contract, Bichette has faded into the background.

As the Blue Jays continue to ponder their future with or without their franchise figureheads, it appears they may be ready to move on from at least one staple in their lineup.

This tidbit from <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2024/08/18/ethan-holliday-2025-mlb-draft-top-prospect-jackson/74842574007/">Bob Nightengale’s latest piece at USA Today</a> unearthed something that people have been whispering about in the background, but now it has been substantiated (credit to Brandon Wile for finding the pullquote).
<blockquote>The Toronto Blue Jays are expected to entertain trade offers this winter for shortstop Bo Bichette, who has no plans to stay in Toronto once he’s a free agent after the 2025 season.</blockquote>
This doesn't mean the Blue Jays will trade Bichette in the offseason, but with everything that's transpired this season, it would not be a shocker to see Bichette in a non-Blue Jays uniform in 2025. While Vladdy has publicly stated his desire to stay in Toronto long term, Bichette has been coy about his future with the Blue Jays.

Nightengale's report also lines up with something Jeff Blair said last week on Blair &amp; Barker, indicating he also believes the probability of the Blue Jays trading Bichette this winter is high:
<blockquote>Right now, if I had to rank Bo coming back without a new contract, Bo being traded, or Bo getting a new free agent deal, I would go 1.) Bo being traded, 2.) Bo coming back with the same contract, 3.) Bo coming back with a deal, buying out his free agency.

I absolutely believe Bo needs a change of scenery. I think everything we’ve seen tells us that.</blockquote>
Even if he has no interest in re-signing past 2025 with the Blue Jays, it doesn't mean the Blue Jays are beholden to trade away their shortstop. But if the guy doesn't want to be here, and he already has one foot out of the door in his mind already, it makes sense for the Blue Jays to game plan for life after Bichette and pull the parachute one year early and at least recoup some value.

If the Blue Jays intend on contending in 2025 - and judging by their actions at the trade deadline, they still believe that philosophy - it's prudent to hang onto Bichette for one final year. But then they risk he signs elsewhere and all they get is a compensation pick.

At least by trading him this offseason, they might get a big league piece back or some high-end prospects that could make a difference on the big league roster in the near future.

Replicating Bichette’s production would be hard, but this team desperately needs to re-allocate resources, and they could spread the $17.5 million earmarked for him next season across several positions rather than one.

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