{"id":92496,"date":"2024-12-20T14:17:37","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T19:17:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=92496"},"modified":"2024-12-20T14:17:37","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T19:17:37","slug":"bo-bichette-trade-rumors-blue-jays-soften-stance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/12\/20\/bo-bichette-trade-rumors-blue-jays-soften-stance\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Jays Active in Trade Talks, Two-Time All-Star Could Be Dealt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two months after Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins dismissed the idea of trading Bo Bichette<\/a>, the team’s stance on the shortstop’s future has softened, sparking speculation about a potential deal. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic<\/a>, a trade involving the two-time All-Star is one of three moves currently being considered by the Blue Jays, aiming to clarify their starting lineup. Additionally, the Blue Jays are looking at free-agent third baseman<\/a> Alex Bregman<\/a> and are in discussions with Vladimir Guerrero Jr.<\/a> about a long-term contract extension.<\/p>\n

Like Bichette, Guerrero is eligible for free agency after the 2025 season.<\/p>\n

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Blue Jays’ Stance on Bo Bichette Trade Softens Amid Offseason Rumors<\/span><\/h2>\n

After falling short in their pursuits of Shohei Ohtani<\/a> and Juan Soto<\/a> in back-to-back offseasons, “the perception within the industry remains that the Jays are desperate to do something big,” Rosenthal writes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A trade involving Bichette would pave the way for Andr\u00e9s Gim\u00e9nez<\/a>, acquired from the Cleveland Guardians<\/a> during the Winter Meetings – to assume the role of the Blue Jays’ new starting shortstop. This move would also provide Toronto with greater financial flexibility to make another significant acquisition, potentially targeting Bregman or ace right-hander Corbin Burnes<\/a>. Bichette is owed $16.5 million in the final year of the three-year, $33.6 million contract he signed before the 2023 season.<\/p>\n

Despite some speculation, a trade involving Bichette seems improbable. Rosenthal notes that while Toronto is considering the possibility of moving Bichette, they are looking for a substantial return. Given that Bichette has only one year left on his contract and is coming off a challenging season in which he spent nearly three months sidelined due to a right calf strain, it may be difficult to find a team willing to meet Toronto’s price. He managed to record a 71 OPS+ with four home runs in 81 games last season.<\/p>\n

Projected Lineup and Priorities<\/h3>\n

The projected Opening Day lineup for the Blue Jays has Gim\u00e9nez playing second base, Bichette at shortstop and Ernie Clement<\/a> at third. If they decide to trade Bichette and bring in<\/a> Bregman, the ideal arrangement could be Bregman at third, Gim\u00e9nez at short and Clement at second. However, there are plenty of other options on the table. The Blue Jays might want to consider signing Burnes and either trading Chris Bassitt<\/a> or Kevin Gausman<\/a>. They could even improve their outfield, which is one of their biggest needs, by signing Anthony Santander<\/a> or Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Toronto has historically been cautious regarding their prospects of re-signing Bichette beyond the upcoming season. While trading Bichette for prospects may not align with their immediate goal of being competitive, it remains a viable option should they find themselves out of playoff contention. A resurgence from Bichette this season could elevate his value and provide opportunities for the team. Ultimately, however, the primary focus should be on securing Guerrero to ensure the franchise’s long-term success. Prioritizing Guerrero’s contract will not only strengthen the core of the team but also send a message to fans about the organization’s commitment to winning.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: \u00a9 Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two months after Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins dismissed the idea of trading Bo Bichette, the team’s stance on the shortstop’s future has softened, sparking speculation about a potential deal. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, a trade involving the two-time All-Star is one of three moves currently being considered by the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3686,"featured_media":92503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,1071],"tags":[3903,1608,4223,2231,28346,2133,1331,2178,1198,640],"class_list":["post-92496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bluejays","category-mlb","tag-andres-gimenez","tag-bo-bichette","tag-chris-bassitt","tag-corbin-burnes","tag-ernie-clement","tag-juan-soto","tag-kevin-gausman","tag-shohei-ohtani","tag-teoscar-hernandez","tag-vladimir-guerrero-jr"],"modified_by":"Matt Graves","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3686"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92496"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92504,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92496\/revisions\/92504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}