If Toronto pitching could have just held on long enough to prevent the Los Angeles Dodgers from scoring four runs in Game 7 of the World Series, seven-year veteran shortstop Bo Bichette would have gone down as the greatest postseason hero in Blue Jays history â or at least since Joe Carter belted a walk-off homer against Philadelphia Phillies closer Mitch Williams to win the World Series in 1993.
Playing on a bad left knee that had kept him out since early September, the 27-year-old Bichette’s three-run home run in the bottom of the third off of Dodgersâ MVP Shohei Ohtani gave the Blue Jays a lead that they did not surrender until the ninth, only to go on and lose the game and the championship, in 11 innings.
The moment may now simply be forgotten, and Bichette will likely move on from Toronto as a free agent this offseason. But according to a prediction by one baseball expert, the son of former major leaguer Dante Bichette will land with another top American League contender, signing a massive, multiyear, nine-figure contract.
Bichette May Move Off of Shortstop
According to Anthony Franco, an analyst for MLB Trade Rumors, Bichette is “the consensus No. 2 hitter in the class” of free agents currently on the market, behind only former Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker.
But Franco issued a serious caution regarding the Blue Jaysâ 2016 All-Star.
“The lingering question is how long Bichette can stick at shortstop. He’s a below-average runner with middling arm strength who rates as one of the weakest defensive shortstops in MLB,” warned Franco. “The glove was an issue even before the knee sprain, which could increase some teams’ concerns about his lateral quickness even if it’s expected to heal without surgery.”
But for one team, the prospect of moving Bichette out of the shortstop position, likely to the designated hitter slot, may not be a drawback, but an attraction.
Top Prospect Makes Bichette More Attractive to Tigers
The Detroit Tigers currently have the No. 2 prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, currently on the roster of the Erie Sea Wolves at the Double-A level. And 21-year-old Kevin McGonigle is also a shortstop, one who is projected by Pipeline to be major league-ready sometime in 2026.
McGonigle’s promotion would give the Tigers flexibility with Bichette, which is one reason that expert Ryan Finkelstein of Just Baseball in an analysis published on Thursday predicts that the Tigers will be the team that lands Bichette.
Finkelstein projects that the Tigers, who subsisted on a 14th-ranked, $157.5 million payroll in 2025, will be willing to open the checkbook for Bichette. According to the Just Baseball analyst, Bichette will jump over the border from Toronto to Detroit for an eight-year, $208 million contract.
Bichette Would be Best Tigers Hitter
After nearly a decade in the postseason wilderness, Detroit emerged in 2024 as a serious playoff contender, advancing to the American League Division Series in that season and this one. Adding Bichette’s bat could obviously help the Tigers progress to another level in 2026.
His .840 OPS this year was higher than the number posted by any Detroit starting player in any position. In fact, only Jahmai Jones posted a higher OPS at .937.
But Jones was used primarily in a backup role, limited to 150 plate appearances as a fill-in for injured center fielder Parker Meadows.
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