Even after acquiring second baseman Andrés Giménez last week, it remains doubtful that the Toronto Blue Jays will trade All-Star shortstop Bo Bichette this off-season. However, as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal wrote Thursday, they are at least open to moving him.

For a significant return, that is.

Though Bichette is set to become a free agent after next season, as is fellow franchise cornerstone Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Rosenthal reports the Blue Jays aren’t actively shopping the 26-year-old shortstop. But they could pull the trigger on a deal for a “high price,” as executives from three separate interested suitors told The Athletic.

Bichette, limited to 81 games in 2024 due to multiple IL stints related to a calf injury and a fractured right middle finger, is entering the final season of a three-year, $33.6-million contract that bought out his final three seasons of arbitration eligibility. He’ll earn $16.5 million in ’25 before hitting the open market next winter.

Trading the two-time All-Star this winter would be selling him at a reduced value, given he’s coming off a disappointing sixth major league campaign. Along with missing half the season, he struggled mightily offensively, mustering only four home runs and 31 RBIs with a .225/.277/.322 slash line, accounting for a 71 wRC+ (100 league average) — all career-worsts.

After nearly finishing 2021 and ’22 as a five-win player per fWAR and coming just shy of being a four-win player in ’23, Bichette was barely above replacement level last season — worth a career-worst 0.3 rating. His motivation will undoubtedly be high as he attempts to enjoy a bounce-back performance during his potential walk year.

Not that he needs any extra incentive, as returning to his All-Star form could mean the difference between being viewed as a really good shortstop and one that enters the $300-million fraternity — joining Trea Turner, Corey Seager, Francisco Lindor and Mookie Betts — in free agency. But it may also help that he’ll share the infield with his potential replacement in Giménez.

Following his arrival from the Cleveland Guardians, Giménez — a three-time Gold Glove winner and a Platinum Glove winner in 2023 at second base — will spend next season on the right side of the diamond, offering elite-level defence up the middle with Bichette. However, if the latter departs after ’25, the former will likely slide over to short in ’26.

That could open up playing time at second for top prospect Orelvis Martinez, who made his MLB debut last June before receiving an 80-game PED suspension. Once reinstated, the 23-year-old infielder — currently blocked by Giménez at second — returned to triple-A Buffalo for 11 games until the campaign concluded.

While Toronto is unlikely to trade Bichette this winter, a second consecutive slow start will likely cause the front office to consider offers more seriously if the club is out of playoff contention around the trade deadline. That worst-case scenario may also apply to Guerrero if management doesn’t believe it can extend the generational star, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Thursday.

If Bichette or Guerrero remain unsigned beyond 2025 and enter free agency next winter, the Blue Jays will undoubtedly submit qualifying offers to both. By exceeding next season’s $241 million luxury-tax threshold, which they’re approximately $13 million away from per FanGraphs’ RosterResource, they’d only receive compensatory draft picks after the fourth round if both players reject their QOs.