Amidst a lack of impact position players available in free agency, the Toronto Blue Jays reportedly fielded trade interest in Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The Los Angeles Dodgers were among the teams mentioned as monitoring Bichette’s availability on the trade market, in addition to Willy Adames of the Milwaukee Brewers. Bichette is under team control for two more years while Adames is on track to become a free agent after the 2024 season.
Despite the interest, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said a Bichette trade is not part of the team’s plans and he instead will remain their starting shortstop, according to Scott Mitchell of TSN Sports:
GM Atkins on Bo:
“He’s a really good player in a market that doesn’t have a great deal of position players. We are very fortunate to have him and he is our SS moving forward. Rumours, speculation there’s usually something (to that) but in our case Bo is our SS moving forward.”
— Scott Mitchell (@ScottyMitchTSN) November 28, 2023
Bichette enjoyed an All-Star 2023 season in which he hit .306/.339/.475 with 30 doubles, three triples, 20 home runs and 73 RBI over 135 games. The 25-year-old received down-ballot votes for American League MVP, which was unanimously won by Shohei Ohtani for the second time in his career.
Bichette signed a three-year contract extension at the start of Spring Training this year to buy out his arbitration seasons. He is due to receive an $11 million salary next season and $16.5 million in 2025.
Although the Dodgers have been linked to Adames and Bichette, general manager Brandon Gomes expressed confidence in Gavin Lux making a full recovery from a torn ACL and LCL in his right knee and being a key contributor for the team in 2024.
Barring a trade, Lux is expected to be the Dodgers’ starting shortstop.
Bo Bichette part of Blue Jays’ hope for Ohtani
The Blue Jays are looking to improve on an 89-win season and AL Wild Card berth, and keeping Bichette as part of their nucleus could help efforts to sign Ohtani.
Toronto has recently been mentioned as a popular dark-horse pick to land the coveted two-way star.
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