Despite some significant effort to lock in more talent, the Toronto Blue Jays have posted a losing record to start the season.
After missing the playoffs last fall, the team added win-now contributors like Jeff Hoffman, Anthony Santander, Andres Gimenez and Max Scherzer. And then, shortly after opening day, they locked in superstar slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with a $500 million extension.
The Blue Jays now have the third-highest payroll in baseball, per Spotrac, but all of that spending doesn’t seem to have changed things. As a result, some more moves could be ahead.
Without a significant improvement, it might be time to part ways with shortstop Bo Bichette. Once seen as a long-term running mate for Guerrero, Bichette earned two All-Star nods and three seasons of Most Valuable Player Award votes between 2021 and 2023.
But a harsh slump in 2024 has persisted into this season and questions are being raised about whether Bichette will stick as a major-league shortstop. As he reported on extra work Bichette is doing to improve his defense, The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon noted he could find himself on a new team in the near future.
“There are certainly teams for which Bichette will be an obvious shortstop option, including the Blue Jays,” Bannon wrote. “The Milwaukee Brewers … have plenty of money coming off the books. The Atlanta Braves haven’t finished higher than 20th in shortstop wins above average since 2022. If you expand to teams that could use a second baseman, though, Bichette’s potential market opens even more.”
Bannon added Bichette is “likely” to move off shortstop at some point, no matter where he’s playing, but that a trade could push that change this season. Bichette acknowledged that he could end up on a new team that has a long-term shortstop in place, suggesting he is open to a position change to accommodate that.
“I know there are teams that have shortstops that wouldn’t move,” Bichette told Bannon. “But I’m just focused on what I can do right now to help my team win, whatever way I can.”
As that focus includes improving his defense, Bichette could find himself at second base with a new team sooner rather than later.
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