The Toronto Blue Jays failed to meet their high expectations in 2024. Their 88 losses were the most since 2019, and injuries were the story of the season. Even with a great season from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., they never sniffed contention in the American League Wild Card race.
They should respond to that season by making significant moves in the offseason to reset their competitive window. The Blue Jays should trade shortstop Bo Bichette this offseason.
Bichette was the inverse of his infield counterpart Guerrero this season. He played in just 81 games and only mustered 31 RBIs with a .598 OPS. Only Kevin Kiermaier posted an OPS+ lower than Bichette's 71 in at least 80 games.
Kiermaier was traded to the Dodgers at the trade deadline. While the 2024 season was a disaster for Bichette, he could be a solid option for plenty of teams around the league. The Blue Jays are not one of them.
Guerrero is the face of the franchise in Toronto and is approaching free agency after the season. Any rebuild will be much quicker and easier to swallow with a star first baseman slugging in the middle of the lineup. The rebuild will also be better if they deal Bichette for prospects that can become stars.
Bichette plays a premium position, will be 27 years old on opening day, and has multiple All-Star appearances. Someone will pay up for him, but who should the Blue Jays send him to?
Potential landing spots for Bo Bichette
Teams will come calling for Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette. They dealt infielder Cavan Biggio to the Dodgers at the trade deadline with much less of a track record than Bichette.
While that did not work for the eventual champions, someone will take a swing at the more promising player. The Dodgers may even be that team, as they need a shortstop to solidify their infield. Miguel Rojas could be the guy, but he is much older, and his career is ending. Adding Bichette as an everyday shortstop would be huge for LA.
Brewers' shortstop Willy Adames is a free agent and just had a career year. Milwaukee just traded Corbin Burnes so they could avoid giving him a massive contract. Assuming that Adames goes elsewhere, maybe even LA, they will need a new shortstop.
They could add a stopgap player like Bichette while they develop their young prospects. Cooper Pratt is one of their best prospects but is not slated to make the MLB jump until 2027. Bichette is a free agent after 2025, so this is a solid option.
The Astros have a young shortstop in Jeremy Peña who has struggled since his 2022 rookie season. Even with his rough seasons, they have faith that he is the guy of the future. If Alex Bregman leaves, Houston can trade for and re-sign Bichette and put him or Peña at third base.
Elsewhere in the AL West, the Mariners posted the second-worst team batting average in baseball last season. Seattle has a very inexperienced infield, and if Bichette is willing to move positions, he could be the perfect guy here.
JP Crawford at shortstop is one of the few positions they have locked down. Seattle should make this move for their lineup and figure out the defense in spring training.
Could Bo Bichette remain with the Blue Jays?
The reality of this situation is that Bo Bichette is a free agent in the same offseason as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Even without this spectacular season, everyone would lean toward Guerrero moving forward. Bichette is a very good player, but the future of the Blue Jays lies in Guerrero's hands.
They may have to choose between the two and it won't be much of a choice. If he remains with the team through next season, Toronto will lose their shortstop for nothing.
They will likely get more for Bichette this offseason than at the trade deadline. Teams are more likely to trade MLB-ready players in the winter when they can still replace them. If that is what the Blue Jays want, then they should certainly look to move him soon.
The chances that Bichette and Guerrero are in the Blue Jays lineup together for a long time are slim and the front office has to make that decision as soon as possible.
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