Blue Jays insider confirms that the Jays have previously shopped Bo Bichette 

Throughout the past summer, Toronto Blue Jays star shortstop Bo Bichette found himself amidst some swirling rumors that he could be traded. Many may have thought that most of it was speculation and that the Jays weren’t really proactive in potentially dealing away their superstar.

However, Blue Jays insider Scott Mitchell has now confirmed that according to sources, the Jays had indeed previously shopped Bichette, albeit last winter during the offseason. Mitchell explained that it was likely more exploratory than anything at the time. Nevertheless, if the Jays had full intention to keep one of their potential faces of the franchise long-term, such actions probably wouldn’t be necessary.

Mitchell would go on to speculate that the Jays may take a look at that route again this winter, for more reasons than one.

“This time around, there seems to be a bit of a fractured relationship, and a change of scenery might be best for both parties,” Mitchell said.

After all, Bichette put together his worst MLB season ever in 2024, as he batted a dismal .225 with just a .598 OPS, along with 29 runs scored, 4 home runs and 31 RBI over 81 games played. The fact that he also ran into a slew of injuries along the way sure didn’t help his cause either.

However, coming off such an underwhelming season, it has put Bichette’s value at an all-time low. Whenever that is the case, it can be difficult for any team to win any type of trade, especially when the key piece heading out is a proven superstar in the league. 

But a key point that Mitchell pointed out was in reference to Nomar Garciaparra and the Boston Red Sox. During the 2002 and 2003 seasons, contract extension talks between the two parties had failed miserably. Amidst the action, the Red Sox also had exploratory talks of potentially trading Garciaparra during the 2003 offseason. But when Garciaparra found out about the supposedly private talks, it drew his displeasure and fractured the relationship somewhat in the process. During 2004, he was also nagged by an Achilles’ injury and was eventually dealt at the trade deadline by Boston that year that netted them a less-than-stellar return package. Nevertheless, Garciaparra got his fresh start with the Chicago Cubs and stunningly, the Red Sox would go on capture two World Series titles in four seasons.

So if moving on from a star shortstop can bring home a championship, who wouldn’t be here for it? But without that being a guarantee, the Jays should nonetheless think over things carefully on how they want to handle the Bichette situation going forward and work out something that could benefit both parties in the end.