The Major League Baseball trade deadline just passed, but it’s never too early to look ahead to this winter’s free agency.
The Toronto Blue Jays avoided potential heartbreak by signing Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a 14-year, $500 million contract extension in April, making the Rogers Centre his home stadium for the rest of his career.
Guerrero’s teammate, shortstop Bo Bichette, is an impending free agent, and for now, it does not appear that there are serious talks of the two-time All-Star signing an extension. Blue Jays fans would hate to watch Bichette leave in free agency, but it’s a real possibility.
Braves Predicted to Sign Bichette
With Nick Allen as the Atlanta Braves’ starting shortstop, the National League East club should be in the market for a player of Bichette’s caliber.
Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller sees the Braves as a suitable landing spot for Bichette and his 108 career home runs.
“But on the heels of a wildly disappointing season, Atlanta figures to be most motivated to find a way. The Braves have an excellent glove in Nick Allen, but they have a .538 OPS at shortstop for the year, yet to produce so much as a single home run,” Miller wrote Tuesday.
“Since losing Dansby Swanson in free agency three years ago, they’ve yet to produce much of anything at shortstop. Might finally be time to fix that.”
Miller’s prediction for the contract Bichette would receive from the Braves is for $126 million over six years.
“As was the case last winter with Willy Adames, the shortstop market in this free agency cycle is going to have a pretty serious ‘It’s that guy or bus’ feel to it in regard to Bo Bichette,” Miller wrote. “Because, beyond the current Blue Jay with a near .300 career batting average, the next-best option is probably utilityman Willi Castro.”
In 111 games in 2025, Bichette owns a .299/.340/.469 slash line with 15 homers and a .809 OPS. He finished 3-for-6 with two home runs and six RBIs in the Blue Jays’ 15-1 victory against the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.
Bichette’s Resurgence
Bichette likely earned himself a bigger payday for his performance thus far this season after a down offensive year in 2024. A calf strain last June and a right middle finger fracture last September limited him to just 81 games.
“The good news for prospective buyers is that after a brutal 2024 campaign, both fueled and truncated by injury, Bichette does look the part again,” wrote Miller about the shortstop’s offensive turnaround from one season to the next.
“He led the American League in total hits in each of 2021 and 2022 and is presently leading the majors in that department this season. And with his 28th birthday not coming until the spring, there’s good reason to believe he can keep this up for at least another half-decade.”
Outside of the Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta Braves, it’s difficult to pinpoint which organizations could show interest in offering Bichette a contract this winter. Could the Detroit Tigers prefer to keep Javier Baez in center field to let a newcomer play shortstop?
Maybe, but for now, the Blue Jays and Braves make the most logical sense for the doubles machine.
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